Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “optical turbulence”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

The problem of atmospheric turbulence

All ground-based observations of the solar five-minute oscillations are affected by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere that leads to substantial refractive index variations. The turbulent motions serve to mix an air mass that is thermally stratified in the vertical, thereby producing intermittent thermal fluctuations over a wide range of heights in the atmosphere. These thermal structures yield refractive index changes that deflect the light path in a complicated way, producing intricate variations of amplitude and phase in what might have started out as simple plane waves. Since the fluid turbulence is statistical in nature, so too is the optical turbulence which is an integral measure of the refractive index changes along the light travel path. All of this produces what is usually called atmospheric seeing, which consists of image motion, blurring and distortion across the field of view. The effects of atmospheric seeing upon observations of five-minute oscillations carried out from the ground were assessed. This will help to provide a baseline estimate of the scienctific benefits that might accrue if one were able to observe the same oscillations from a space observatory unfettered by seeing effects.

Toomre, J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Mitigation of Laser Beam Scintillation in Free-Space Optical Communication Systems Through Coherence-Reducing Optical Materials

Free-space optical communication systems (also known as lasercom systems) offer several performance advantages over traditional radio frequency communication systems. These advantages include increased data rates and reduced operating power and system weight. One serious limiting factor in a lasercom system is Optical turbulence in Earth's atmosphere. This turbulence breaks up the laser beam used to transmit the information into multiple segments that interfere with each other when the beam is focused onto the receiver. This interference pattern at the receiver changes with time causing fluctuations in the received optical intensity (scintillation). Scintillation leads to intermittent losses of the signal and an overall reduction in the lasercom system's performance. Since scintillation is a coherent effect, reducing the spatial and temporal coherence of the laser beam will reduce the scintillation. Transmitting a laser beam through certain materials is thought to reduce its coherence. Materials that were tested included: sapphire, BK7 glass, fused silica and others. The spatial and temporal coherence of the laser beam was determined by examining the interference patterns (fringes) it formed when interacting with various interferometers and etalons.

Renner, Christoffer J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Laser beam propagation in atmospheric turbulence

The optical effects of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of low power laser beams are reviewed in this paper. The optical effects are produced by the temperature fluctuations which result in fluctuations of the refractive index of air. The commonly-used models of index-of-refraction fluctuations are presented. Laser beams experience fluctuations of beam size, beam position, and intensity distribution within the beam due to refractive turbulence. Some of the observed effects are qualitatively explained by treating the turbulent atmosphere as a collection of moving gaseous lenses of various sizes. Analytical results and experimental verifications of the variance, covariance and probability distribution of intensity fluctuations in weak turbulence are presented. For stronger turbulence, a saturation of the optical scintillations is observed. The saturation of scintillations involves a progressive break-up of the beam into multiple patches; the beam loses some of its lateral coherence. Heterodyne systems operating in a turbulent atmosphere experience a loss of heterodyne signal due to the destruction of coherence.

Murty, S. S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Atmospheric turbulence chamber for optical transmission experiment Characterization by thermal method

Consideration is given to an atmospheric turbulence chamber designed for optical wave propagation experiments. The chamber consists of ten small electric heater/blowers with an aluminum foil screen and three screens of 2-mm aluminum wire meshes. Calculations are made of the temperature structure constant squared on the basis of temperature structure function measurements derived from a differential microthermocouple system. Values are presented for the refractive-index structure constant squared. The average wind velocity and temperature are found to be, respectively, 0.41 m/sec and 53 C. The inner and outer scales of turbulence are 5.0 mm and 6.5 cm. It is shown that the measured temperature structure function and the power spectrum of temperature fluctuations satisfy, respectively, the 2/3 and -5/3 power similarity laws in the inertial subrange. Possible chamber improvements are discussed.

Gamo, H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of atmospheric turbulence on precision optical measurements used for antenna-pointing compensation

Blind pointing of the Deep Space Network (DSN) 70-meter antennas can be improved if distortions of the antenna structure caused by unpredictable environmental loads can be measured in real-time, and the resulting boresight shifts evaluated and incorporated into the pointing control loops. The measurement configuration of a proposed pointing compensation system includes an optical range sensor that measures distances to selected points on the antenna surface. The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the accuracy of optical distance measurements and a method to make in-situ determinations of turbulence-induced measurement errors are discussed.

Nerheim, N.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Effects of organized turbulence structures on the phase distortion in a coherent optical beam propagating through a turbulent shear flow

Phase distortion in a coherent optical beam propagating through a turbulent shear flow is studied. The instantaneous distribution of the index refraction is represented by a passive-scalar field in a computed homogeneous shear flow. The flow contains organized vortical structures (hairpin eddies), which are characteristic of turbulent shear flows. The phase distortion induced by turbulent fluctuations is calculated from the optical path difference through the flow. A conceptual model is proposed for the distribution of scalar fluctuations produced by the hairpin vortices in the shear flow. It is shown that the phase distortion of an optical beam can be minimized by propagating the beam at an angle approximately normal to the organized vortical structures in a turbulent shear flow.

Truman, C. Randall↗
NASA NTRS1969

Remote probing of the optical strength of atmospheric turbulence and of wind velocity

A procedure for determining the optical strength of turbulence of the atmosphere and the wind velocity at various altitudes by measuring the spatial and temporal covariance of scintillation is developed. Emphasis is placed on the development of the formal relationships that have to be inverted to obtain the desired results. For determination of optical strength of turbulence, it is a linear integral equation that is developed. However, for determination of remote wind velocity, a nonlinear integral equation is obtained. A computer approach for solving each of the equations is suggested. The configuration and performance requirements of the measurement apparatus are discussed.

Fried, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Prediction of optical propagation losses through turbulent boundary/shear layers

A simplified mathematical model was developed which predicts the optical propagation losses which occur when an optical beam of given wave length passes through a turbulent boundary layer or shear layer. The optical losses are predicted in terms of line spread function (or Strehl ratio) and modulation transfer function by using experimentally determined values of layer thickness, streamwise, lateral and beamwise density fluctuation length scales, and distribution of the standard deviation of the density fluctuations through the turbulent layer. The prediction model was applied to the analysis of a number of selected cases of interest from the aerodynamic-optical interaction wind-tunnel investigation conducted in the NASA-Ames 1.83 x 1.83 meter (6 x 6 ft) wind tunnel. Direct optical measurements are compared with the results predicted by the aerodynamic analysis.

Verhoff, A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A Radiosonde Thermal Sensor Technique for Measurement of Atmospheric Turbulence

A system was developed to measure vertical profiles of microthermal turbulence in the free atmosphere. It combines thermal sensor technology with radiosonde balloon systems. The resultant data set from each thermosonde flight is a profile of the strength and distribution of microthermal fluctuations which act as tracers for turbulence. The optical strength of this turbulence is computed and used to predict optical and laser beam propagation statistics. A description of the flight payload, examples of turbulence profiles and comparison with simultaneous stellar observations are included.

Bufton, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

A radiosonde thermal sensor technique for measurement of atmospheric turbulence

A new system was developed to measure vertical profiles of microthermal turbulence in the free atmosphere. It combines thermal sensor technology with radiosonde balloon systems. The resultant data set from each thermosonde flight is a profile of the strength and distribution of microthermal fluctuations which act as tracers for turbulence. The optical strength of this turbulence is computed and used to predict optical and laser beam propagation statistics. A description of the flight payload, examples of turbulence profiles, and comparison with simultaneous stellar observations are included.

Bufton, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

An optical technique for remote sensing of near-surface turbulence

Measurements of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates (TKE) or temperature dissipation rates of the the near-surface boundary layer are needed to understand air-sea exchange processes and rates. The capability to accurately estimate these variables by means of a remote technique is relevant to a number of questions ranging from the air-sea transfer of heat and gas to the fate of pollutants.

turbulence optical instrumentation surface process↗
NASA NTRS2005

Molecular Rayleigh Scattering Techniques Developed for Measuring Gas Flow Velocity, Density, Temperature, and Turbulence

Nonintrusive optical point-wise measurement techniques utilizing the principles of molecular Rayleigh scattering have been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to obtain time-averaged information about gas velocity, density, temperature, and turbulence, or dynamic information about gas velocity and density in unseeded flows. These techniques enable measurements that are necessary for validating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational aeroacoustic (CAA) codes. Dynamic measurements allow the calculation of power spectra for the various flow properties. This type of information is currently being used in jet noise studies, correlating sound pressure fluctuations with velocity and density fluctuations to determine noise sources in jets. These nonintrusive techniques are particularly useful in supersonic flows, where seeding the flow with particles is not an option, and where the environment is too harsh for hot-wire measurements.

Mielke, Amy F.↗