Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, the project investigated a specific hexapod design problem as a means of exhibiting the modeling/optimization software tools and to develop an understanding of the natural frequency behavior of hexapods. To this end, the research could be used for the design of telescope secondary support structures and other hexapod optimization engineering problems.
","abstract_html":"<p>Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, the project investigated a specific hexapod design problem as a means of exhibiting the modeling/optimization software tools and to develop an understanding of the natural frequency behavior of hexapods. To this end, the research could be used for the design of telescope secondary support structures and other hexapod optimization engineering problems.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Feeney, Michael Edward"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Mechanical Engineering","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Peter Schuster"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:50Z","subjects":["telescope hexapod optimization modeling matlab abaqus","Computer-Aided Engineering and Design","Other Mechanical Engineering","Structural Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2011.71"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2011.71","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2011.71","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/512","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Peter Schuster"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Feeney, Michael Edward"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-06-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["telescope hexapod optimization modeling matlab abaqus","Computer-Aided Engineering and Design","Other Mechanical Engineering","Structural Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/512","10.15368/theses.2011.71"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, the project investigated a specific hexapod design problem as a means of exhibiting the modeling/optimization software tools and to develop an understanding of the natural frequency behavior of hexapods. To this end, the research could be used for the design of telescope secondary support structures and other hexapod optimization engineering problems.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Optimization and Modeling Tools for Telescope Hexapod Structures"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Peter Schuster"],"dc:creator":["Feeney, Michael Edward"],"dc:date.available":["2011-06-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, the project investigated a specific hexapod design problem as a means of exhibiting the modeling/optimization software tools and to develop an understanding of the natural frequency behavior of hexapods. To this end, the research could be used for the design of telescope secondary support structures and other hexapod optimization engineering problems.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/512","10.15368/theses.2011.71"],"dc:subject":["telescope hexapod optimization modeling matlab abaqus","Computer-Aided Engineering and Design","Other Mechanical Engineering","Structural Engineering"],"dc:title":["Optimization and Modeling Tools for Telescope Hexapod Structures"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:50Z"}