Interferometer, Aerocurtain, High Speed
Saturday, September 09, 2006
An Aerocurtain Interferometer has been design and developed that is capable of measuring the optical path length changes through a cross section of high-speed aerodynamics. The Interferometer is used to measure optical disturbances through an Aerocurtain, the shock wave produced by a supersonic projectile, and telescope atmospheric turbulence (local wind blowing across a observatory dome).
Two laser light beams are used to measure the optical aerodynamic disturbance. The Interferometer beam splitter divides the laser light beam into two parts. One laser light beam is modified relative to the other laser light beam and then the two-laser light beams are recombines with another beamsplitter.
The Interferometer optical system consists of an argon-ion laser light source chopped at 30 Hz by an acousto-optic modulator. The laser light beam is expanded to produce a 5-inch diameter collimated laser light beam. A beamsplitter allows half the laser light beam to pass through the Aerocurtain and is reflected back by a return mirror. The beamsplitter redirects half the returning laser light beam through a pair of lenses that produced a collimated laser light beam suitable for the Interferometer. The Interferometer images the output laser light beam onto a CCD Camera with a resolution of 510 x 480 pixels at 30 Hz or 240 x 192 pixels at 20 Hz.
Source: SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 1221; Shough, Kwon, and Leary, Lockheed Palo Alto Research Labs, Palo Alto, CA
Reference: None Available
Industrial Products
posted by JD52 @ 1:34 PM,
