Remote Vibration Measurements at a Sud Aviation Alouette III Helicopter with a CW CO2-Laser System

Abstract

This report describes an experiment with a helicopter to quantify the performance of our experimental multifunctional C02-laser heterodyne detection system 5,7 as a vibration detection instrument. The laser system emitted a beam with a diameter of 35 nun with a divergence of 0.5 mrad and a continuous output of 0.4 Watt. The purpose of our measurements was to measure the vibration spectra of a helicopter from the Dutch Air Force at distances between 0,5 to 6 km at various aspect angles. Vibration detection with the help of lasers might prove important for classification of targets. Especially helicopters are of interest because of the typical constant rotor speeds and fixed speed-ratio's between the tail-and main rotor (T/R-ratio) and other characteristics of the spectra. The obtained spectral components are compared with maintenance (rotortuning) frequency measurements done at the airbase with accelerometers. The results are in accordance with each other. The rotor frequencies have been determined at all positions of the helicopter. Depending of the place where the laser beam hits the target, the amplitudes of the spikes in the frequency spectrum may vary significantly. With an Advantest R9211C FFT spectrum analyser a measurement will take at least one second, yielding a fair recognisable spectrum at distances of the helicopter up to 4 km.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 28, 1993
Accession Number
ADA273818

Entities

People

  • H. E. Boetz

Organizations

  • Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Analyzers
  • Aspect Angle
  • Automatic Frequency Control
  • Cameras
  • Carbon Dioxide Lasers
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Doppler Effect
  • Frequency Bands
  • Laser Applications
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Measurement
  • Modulation
  • Pulse Compression
  • Spectrum Analyzers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Marine Propulsion Engineering and Naval Architecture
  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy