Calculated thermal behavior of ventilated high precision radio telescopes

Radio telescopes that operate at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths need a reflector-surface precision of a few tens of microns and a pointing accuracy of a few arcseconds. When built in a conventional way from steel and aluminum, as in the case of larger-diameter telescopes, thermal control must be applied to reduce temperature-induced deformations, in particular of the reflector backup structure. We illustrate that it is possible to make model calculations - for instance, during the design phase - that simulate the thermal behavior and the operation of a telescope when servo-loop-controlled ventilation or climatization (air-conditioned ventilation) of the backup structure is applied. We explain the technique of model calculations, and present as an example the calculated thermal behavior of a ventilated 64-m-diameter telescope and of the climatized 30-m IRAM telescope. It is explained that the thermal control of a telescope mount is less demanding if frequent pointing corrections can be made