A New Method for Analyzing Aero-Optical Effects with Transient Simulation

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 21; no. 6; p. 2199
• Main Authors: Yang, Bo, Fan, Zichen, Yu, He, Hu, Haidong, Yang, Zhaohua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 21.03.2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: artificial vortex structure; micro mechanism of aero-optical effects; micro-scale density structure; photon energy scattering; scaling model of distorted wavefront; star sensor of hypersonic vehicle; micro mechanism of aero-optical effects; artificial vortex structure; scaling model of distorted wavefront; photon energy scattering; micro-scale density structure; star sensor of hypersonic vehicle
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21062199

Aero-optical effects reduce the accuracy of optical sensors on high-speed aircraft. Current research usually focuses on light refraction caused by large-scale density structures in turbulence. A method for analyzing photon energy scattering caused by micro-scale structures is proposed in this paper, which can explain the macro image distortion caused by moving molecules in inhomogeneous airflow. Quantitative analysis of the propagation equation indicates that micro-scale structures may contribute more to the wavefront distortion than the widely considered large-scale structures. To analyze the micro mechanism of aero-optical effects, a transient simulator is designed based on the scaling model of transient distorted wavefronts and the artificial vortex structure. The simulation results demonstrate that correct aero-optical phenomena can be obtained from the micro mechanism of photon energy scattering. Examples of using the transient simulator to optimize the parameters of the star sensor on a hypersonic vehicle are provided. The proposed analysis method for micro-scale structures provides a new idea for studying the aero-optical effects.