Wind environment analysis of ground-based optical observatory

Abstract

The telescopes and the infrastructures may alter the local wind environment around the observatory and further affect the observing environment. After the completion of site testing, it is necessary to analyze the wind environment of the entire site and plan the telescope layout to make use of the excellent conditions scientifically and rationally. Taking a typical observatory as an example, the effect of topographical features on wind environment and the mutual interference between telescope enclosures are analyzed by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The CFD simulations are compared with the seeing data from Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM), the results are in good agreement, which verifies the effectiveness of the CFD method. The results of wind environment analysis can provide reasonable suggestions for site layout and construction, improving the observing environment and the image quality.