| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | A7.03-8908 (For NASA Use Only - Chron: 013091 ) |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Rayleigh/Mie Lidar for Non-intrusive Measurement of Aircraft Air Data Parameters |
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
OPHIR Corporation is proposing to build an optical remote sensing system to replace traditional sensors used for measuring air data. The proposed system will collect light scattered from an ultraviolet laser beam by both air molecules and aerosols ahead of the aircraft in undisturbed air. The Rayleigh (air) and Mie (aerosol) scattering components will be separated by using their different frequency response characteristics. The aircraft's airspeed will be found from the Doppler shift of both the Rayleigh and Mie scattering, and will therefore not fail if the air becomes too clean due to a lack of aerosols. Measuring the airspeed on three perpendicular axes will allow the aircraft orientation relative to the air to be measured. Local atmospheric temperature and pressure are found by fitting the theoretical model of Rayleigh scattering to the measured Rayleigh lineshape.
Traditional air data sensors have significant limitations in performance and maintainability that impact safety and life cycle costs. This is true for both commercial and military jet aircraft. In addition, traditional sensors have proven difficult and expensive to integrate onto low-observable and high-performance aircraft. The Phase I effort will include trade studies to finalize the system design and analyses of system performance.
POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
The proposed system has commercial application in three Aerospace markets: Flight Test Groups, Military Aircraft, and Commercial Aircraft. The system has the potential to overcome limitations in traditional air data systems at considerable economic benefit. A successful system could one day become a new air data system standard for aircraft.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
(Name, Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
Dr. Loren D. Nelson
OPHIR Corporation
10184 West Belleview Avenue, Suite 200
Littleton , CO 80127 - 1762
NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR
(Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
OPHIR Corporation
10184 West Belleview Avenue, Suite 200
Littleton , CO 80127 - 1762