New Techniques and Devices for Measuring Stratospheric Winds and Turbulence

Abstract

The primary instrument serviced under this contract is a Corona Anemometer, an instrument developed at AFGL to measure turbulence in the stratosphere. High voltage breakdown in a point to plane system is used to generate a corona current of a few micro-amps. The plane in this instrument is a circular disc with a hole in the center to allow for ion extraction. The ions are then attracted to a target plate which is used to sense the beam displacement as a function of wind velocity. The target plate is divided into four quadrants which are isolated from each other and have separate amplifiers to measure their portion of the ion beam. Wind blowing perpendicular to the ion beam will cause a displacement. By comparing in-flight results with a laboratory calibration, one can obtain pertinent data on wind profiles as a function of altitude and time.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA102680

Entities

People

  • George P. Murphy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Amplifiers
  • Circuits
  • Coefficients
  • Control Systems
  • Converters
  • Detectors
  • Heat Transfer
  • Heat Transfer Coefficients
  • High Voltage
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Measurement
  • Regulators
  • Transducers
  • Turbulence
  • Two Dimensional
  • Voltage Regulators

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster