Laser velocimeter with transverse and on-axis sensitivity

Laser Doppler velocimeters are used for measurement of localized fluid velocities without perturbation of flow field. Technique which utilizes only two outgoing beams polarized normally to one another can be processed in such a manner that local oscillator signal is obtained and usual dual-scatter velocity is also retrieved

Rhomboid prism pair for rotating the plane of parallel light beams

An optical system is described for rotating the plane defined by a pair of parallel light beams. In one embodiment a single pair of rhomboid prisms have their respective input faces disposed to receive the respective input beams. Each prism is rotated about an axis of revolution coaxial with each of the respective input beams by means of a suitable motor and gear arrangement to cause the plane of the parallel output beams to be rotated relative to the plane of the input beams. In a second embodiment, two pairs of rhomboid prisms are provided. In a first angular orientation of the output beams, the prisms merely decrease the lateral displacement of the output beams in order to keep in the same plane as the input beams. In a second angular orientation of the prisms, the input faces of the second pair of prisms are brought into coincidence with the input beams for rotating the plane of the output beams by a substantial angle such as 90 deg

An algorithm for using a laser anemometer to determine mean streamline patterns in a turbulent flow

The technique of tracing out a mean flow streamline with a three dimensional laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) is discussed with respect to cumulative, systematic errors that are inherent when the motion of the LDA test point is in the direction of the local measured velocity. Using simple potential flows that have variable curvature and inflection points to simulate an LDA experiment, a streamline tracing algorithm is developed that minimizes these errors. Also, the test point path remains close to the correct streamline even when simulated statistical measurement variations are included

Application of laser velocimetry to aircraft wake-vortex measurements

The theory and use of a laser velocimeter that makes simultaneous measurements of vertical and longitudinal velocities while rapidly scanning a flow field laterally are described, and its direct application to trailing wake-vortex research is discussed. Pertinent measurements of aircraft wake-vortex velocity distributions obtained in a wind tunnel and water towing tank are presented. The utility of the velocimeter to quantitatively assess differences in wake velocity distributions due to wake dissipating devices and span loading changes on the wake-generating model is also demonstrated

Using a 3-dimensional laser anemometer to determine mean streamline patterns in a turbulent flow

The determination of mean streamline patterns by moving the test point in the direction of the measured velocity is shown to produce cumulative errors that are unacceptable. A two-dimensional algorithm that minimizes these errors is presented and is analytically validated using simple potential flows. The algorithm is extended to three-dimensional flows and is again validated analytically. Finally, as an example of a typical application of the algorithm, mean streamlines are measured in a complex, turbulent flow with a three-dimensional laser anemometer

Three-dimensional laser Doppler anemometer measurements of a jet in a crossflow

A three-dimensional laser Doppler anemometer (3D-LDA) was used in a wind tunnel to measure a jet in a crossflow. Measurements were made in the vicinity of a 5-cm-diam jet which issued normally into a 10.65 m/sec wind tunnel crossflow; the velocity ratio Vjet/Vinf was 8. Detailed lateral surveys were made at two elevations (z = cm and 2 cm); both elevations were within the region affected by the boundary layer on the plate. The results are believed to provide reliable velocity field information in the boundary layer of the jet in a crossflow. Turbulence information also is available and believed to be roughly correct, although it may be subject to broadening effects for the lower values of turbulence. A weak vortex pair was observed in the wake at the plate surface. This structure existed in the boundary layer and built confidence because the 3D-LDA was, indeed, able to resolve fine detail in the wake. The capabilities of the 3D-LDA not only allow the making of the velocity surveys, but can be utilized to follow mean streamlines in the flow

Performance and analysis of a three-dimensional nonorthogonal laser Doppler anemometer

A three dimensional laser Doppler anemometer with a nonorthogonal third axis coupled by 14 deg was designed and tested. A highly three dimensional flow field of a jet in a crossflow was surveyed to test the three dimensional capability of the instrument. Sample data are presented demonstrating the ability of the 3D LDA to resolve three orthogonal velocity components. Modifications to the optics, signal processing electronics, and data reduction methods are suggested

Airfoil wake vortex characteristics in the far field

Tangential and axial velocity profiles were measured in the far field wake vortices of several different airfoils. The results are summarized and discussed. A scanning laser velocimeter was used to obtain data up to 1000 chord lengths behind airfoils with rectangular, diamond-shaped, and swept wing planforms at several different angles of attack. The results show general agreement with wind tunnel measurements made in the near field. The results identify two separate flow regions for the dependence of vortex maximum tangential velocity on downstream distance; an inviscid region where the velocity remains constant after rollup to downstream distances of 200 chord lengths, and then a decay or viscous region that persisted to the limit of the test distance. The decay rates appear to be sensitive to both angle of attack and span loading. The maximum tangential velocity for downstream distances to 40 span lengths was reduced by a factor of 2 by changing from an elliptic (swept wing) or rectangular span loading to a triangular-like span loading (diamond-shaped planform wing). Measured axial velocity defects are shown to agree with those predicted by laminar theory

A laser velocimeter system for large-scale aerodynamic testing

A unique laser velocimeter was developed that is capable of sensing two orthogonal velocity components from a variable remote distance of 2.6 to 10 m for use in the 40- by 80-Foot and 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnels and the Outdoor Aerodynamic Research Facility at Ames Research Center. The system hardware, positioning instrumentation, and data acquisition equipment are described in detail; system capabilities and limitations are discussed; and expressions for systematic and statistical accuracy are developed. Direct and coupled laboratory measurements taken with the system are compared with measurements taken with a laser velocimeter of higher spatial resolution, and sample data taken in the open circuit exhaust flow of a 1/50-scale model of the 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnel are presented

Laser velocimetry in the low-speed wind tunnels at Ames Research Center

The historical development of laser velocimetry and its application to low-speed (less than 100 m/sec) aerodynamic flows in the subsonic wind tunnels at Ames Research Center is reviewed. A fully three dimensional velocimeter for the Ames 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel is described, and its capabilities are presented through sample data from a recent experiment. Finally, a long-range (2.6 to 10 m) velocimeter that is designed to be installed within the test section of the Ames 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel is described and sample data are presented