System consists of accelerometer, indicator, and necessary electronic circuits for summing and averaging accelerations. Averaging-time feature enables pilot to see large values of accelerations over a short time or smaller accelerations over longer period of time

Champine, R. A.

Meissner, C. W., Jr.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

October 1975	 B75-10227 
NASA TECH BRIEF 
Langley Research Center 
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage 
commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
New Aircraft Instrument Indicates Turbulence Intensity 
A new aircraft instrument has been developed at 
Langley Research Center which measures aircraft 
response to turbulence in a form that is useful, 
meaningful, and accurate. Aircraft accelerometers, at 
present, measure turbulence peaks but do not 
indicate the level of acceleration over a period of time. 
The use time period of this turbulence intensity 
indicator is adjustable, and it thus provides the pilot 
with a continuous average indication of the intensity 
level of turbulence encounters instead of a recording 
of the level of isolated occurrences of particularly 
severe accelerations. 
The adjustable averaging-time feature enables the 
pilot to see large values of accelerations over a short 
time or smaller accelerations over a longer period of 
time. This allows the pilot to evaluate his flight 
conditions more accurately and with greater consist-
ency. Safety and comfort can be improved as changes 
in turbulence intensity are readily seen, and altitude 
or flight direction can be changed to areas of lesser 
disturbance. 
This turbulence indicating system consists of an 
accelerometer, an indicator, and the necessary 
electronic circuits for summing and averaging the 
accelerations. The accelerometer is mounted near the 
aircraft center of gravity and measures total response 
of aircraft motion. These motions are (root mean 
square) averaged over a selected period of time, and 
the values are presented on a standard 3-inch (7.6-cm) 
instrument that has a scale of 1 to 10. The required 
electronic circuitry is mounted inside the instrument 
case, and a control knob, to select any time period 
from 2 to 20 seconds, is mounted on the face of the 
intensity indicator. Repeater indicators may be 
installed elsewhere, such as for the copilot and the 
observer.
This type of turbulence intensity indicator can be 
useful in all types of aircraft, large and small. It also 
can be used in sailplanes (gliders) and rotary-wing 
(helicopter) aircraft. The turbulence intensity meter 
can be applied to vehicles other than aircraft where a 
real-time readout of motion intensity is desired. It 
could be directly applied to trucks, trains, buses, or 
industrial equipment. With minor modifications to 
internal time constants, the instrument could be used 
for industrial applications to monitor vibration levels 
of machinery. 
Note: 
No further documentation is available. Specific 
questions, however, may be directed to: 
Technology Utilization Officer 
Langley Research Center 
Mail Stop 139-A 
Hampton, Virginia 23665 
Reference: B75-10227 
Patent status: 
Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use 
of this invention should be addressed to: 
Patent Counsel 
Langley Research Center 
Mail Stop 313 
Hampton, Virginia 23665 
Source: Robert A. Champine and

Charles W. Meissner, Jr.

(LA R- 11833) 
Categories: 03 (Physical Sciences) 
02 (Electronics Systems) 
01 (Electronics - Components 
and Circuitry) 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National
	
Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Neither the United States
	
information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States
	
will be free from privately owned rights,
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New aircraft instrument indicates turbulence intensity

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