ELT Testing in a Wind Tunnel
ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) dome will stand almost 80 metres high and be exposed to strong winds atop its future home on Cerro Amazones.
These conditions present and engineering challenge, making wind tunnel tests vital.
A model of the ELT is now under testing in the wind tunnel at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy.
The tests will make sure the telescope will be ready to sustain the winds of Cerro Amazones.
Engineers equip the model with sensors to learn how wind affects the telescope and measure the strucutral loads acting on the gigantic ELT dome.
The results will help designers optimise the dome to guarantee its safe and long-term operation.
Trascribed by ESO, translated by —