Serrurier truss

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A Serrurier truss used on the Mayall Telescope (4.0 m) at Kitt Peak National Observatory
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A Serrurier truss used on the Mayall Telescope (4.0 m) at Kitt Peak National Observatory

A Serrurier truss is used in telescope tube assembly constuction. The design was created by Belgian engineer Mark Serrurier when he was working on the Mt. Palomar 200 inch (5 meter) Hale telescope. The design solves the problem of truss flexing by supporting the primary objective mirror and the secondary mirror by two sets of opposing trusses before and after the declination pivot. The trusses are designed to have an equal amount of flexure, which allows the optics to stay on axis as well as in parallel alignment (collimation) regardless of the orientation of the telescope.

In amateur telescopes, two sets of opposing trusses are rarely used. Even though a single set of trusses is not technically a Serrurier truss, the term is commonly used for such configurations as well.





Other examples of Serrurier truss designs:

200 inch (5 meter) Hale telescope

Forststernwarte Jena 50cm

Dobsonian open truss design.

[edit] References

  • Learner, Richard. "The Legacy of the 200-inch", Sky&Telescope, April 1986, pp. 349-353
  • Sinnott, Roger W. "Flexure of a Serrurier Truss", Sky&Telescope, February 1994, pp. 91-94
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