Synchronous optical intensity and phase measurements to characterize Rayleigh–Bénard convection
Abstract
Propagation of a laser beam through the Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) convection is experimentally investigated using synchronous optical wavefront and intensity measurements. Experimental results characterize the turbulence strength and length scales, which are used to inform numerical wave optic simulations employing phase screens. Experimentally found parameters are the refractive index structure constant, mean flow rate, kinetic and thermal dissipation rates, Kolmogorov microscale, outer scale, and shape of the refractive index power spectrum using known models. Synchronization of the wavefront and intensity measurements provide statistics of each metric at the same instance in time, allowing for two methods of comparison with numerical simulations. Numerical simulations prove to be within agreement of experimental and published results. Synchronized measurements provided more insight to develop reliable propagation models. It is determined that the RB test bed is applicable for simulating realistic undersea environments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 02, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1364/josaa.492749
Entities
People
- K. Peter Judd
- Linda J. Mullen
- Nathaniel A. Ferlic
- Owen O’malley
- Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic
Organizations
- Naval Air Warfare Center
- United States Department of Defense
- United States Naval Academy
- United States Naval Research Laboratory