Developing a thermal control strategy with the method of integrated analysis and experimental verification

A low-power limit was encountered during the design of an aerial camera's thermal control system. It must meet both low-power limit and high image quality. In order to ensure the camera's image quality measured by the modulation transfer function (MTF), the authors studied the camera with the method of integrated analysis: First calculating the nodal displacements according to the boundary conditions, after that, using Zernike polynomials to express the surface figure changes, then calculating the MTF. According to this process, the authors studied the temperature field's effect on the MTF, found a suitable one for the camera, and developed a thermal control strategy for the camera which met the low-power limit. The analysis was confirmed by the experimental data and the test results met the requirements of the camera's imaging.