Thin-shelled composite mirrors have been recently proposed for use as deformable mirrors in optical systems. Large-diameter deformable composite mirrors can be used in the development of active optical zoom systems. We present the fabrication, testing, and modeling of a prototype 0.2 m diameter carbon fiber reinforced polymer mirror for use as a deformable mirror. In addition, three actuation techniques have been modeled and will be presented.

This paper examines the variability of predicted responses when multiple stress–strain curves (reflecting variability from replicate material tests) are propagated through a finite element model of a ductile steel can being slowly crushed. Over 140 response quantities of interest (QOIs) (including displacements, stresses, strains, and calculated measures of material damage) are tracked in the simulations. Each response quantity's behavior varies according to the particular stress–strain curves used for the materials in the model. We desire to estimate or bound response variation when only a few stress–strain curve samples are available from material testing. Propagation of just a few samples will usually result in significantly underestimated response uncertainty relative to propagation of a much larger population that adequately samples the presiding random-function source. A simple classical statistical method, tolerance intervals (TIs), is tested for effectively treating sparse stress–strain curve data. The method is found to perform well on the highly nonlinear input-to-output response mappings and non-normal response distributions in the can crush problem. The results and discussion in this paper support a proposition that the method will apply similarly well for other sparsely sampled random variable or function data, whether from experiments or models. The simple TI method is also demonstrated to be very economical.

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Compression testing is conducted for specimens with well-documented initial damage states obtained from three-point bend testing. Strengths and failure modes are determined for specimens with four quasi-isotropic stacking sequences and two thick nesses. Initial damage prior to compression testing is divided into three classifications based on the extent and location of the damage. These are (1) specimens with short delaminations distributed evenly through the specimen thickness, (2) specimens with few long delaminations, and (3) specimens with local fiber damage in the surface plies under the three-point bend contact point. Specimens without initial damage are also tested in order to determine the effects of the initial damage on the final compression strength and failure modes.

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