Publications

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In this report we explore claims that phase conjugation of high energy lasers by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) can compensate optical aberrations associated with severely distorted laser amplifier media and aberrations induced by the atmosphere. The SBS media tested was a gas cell pressurized up to 300 psi with SF6 or Xe or both. The laser was a 10 Hz, 3J, Q-switched Nd:YAG with 25 ns wide pulses. Atmospheric aberrations were created with space heaters, helium jets and phase plates designed with a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum characterized by a Fried parameter, ro , ranging from 0.6 6.0 mm. Phase conjugate tests in the laboratory were conducted without amplification. For the strongest aberrations, D/ro ~ 20, created by combining the space heaters with the phase plate, the Strehl ratio was degraded by a factor of ~50. Phase conjugation in SF6 restored the peak focusable intensity to about 30% of the original laser. Phase conjugate tests at the outdoor laser range were conducted with laser amplifiers providing gain in combination with the SBS cell. A large 600,000 BTU kerosene space heater was used to create turbulence along the beam path. An atmospheric structure factor of Cn2 = 5x10-13 m2/3 caused the illumination beam to expand to a diameter 250mm and overfill the receiver. The phase conjugate amplified return could successfully be targeted back onto glints 5mm in diameter. Use of a lenslet arrays to lower the peak focusable intensity in the SBS cell failed to produce a useful phase conjugate beam; The Strehl ratio was degraded with multiple random lobes instead of a single focus. I will review literature results which show how multiple beams can be coherently combined by SBS when a confocal reflecting geometry is used to focus the laser in the SBS cell.

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We report the results of an LDRD effort to investigate new technologies for the identification of small-sized (mm to cm) debris in low-earth orbit. This small-yet-energetic debris presents a threat to the integrity of space-assets worldwide and represents significant security challenge to the international community. We present a nonexhaustive review of recent US and Russian efforts to meet the challenges of debris identification and removal and then provide a detailed description of joint US-Russian plans for sensitive, laser-based imaging of small debris at distances of hundreds of kilometers and relative velocities of several kilometers per second. Plans for the upcoming experimental testing of these imaging schemes are presented and a preliminary path toward system integration is identified.

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Conventional tracking systems measure time-space-position data and collect imagery to quantify the flight dynamics of tracked targets. However, they do not provide 6-degree-of-freedom measurements combined with spin rate, wobble, and other flight related parameters associated with non-rigid body motions. Using high-speed digital video cameras and image processing techniques, it may be possible to measure test-unit attitude and surface deformations during key portions of the test-unit's trajectory. This paper discusses the viability of applying Digital Image Correlation (DICa) methods to image data collected from two laser tracking systems. Stereo imaging methods have proven effective in the laboratory for quantifying temporally and spatially resolved 3D motions across a target surface. The principle limitations of the DIC method have been the need for clean imagery and fixed camera positions and orientations. However, recent field tests have demonstrated that these limitations can be overcome to provide a new method for quantifying flight dynamics with stereo laser tracking and high-speed video imagery in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. © 2008 Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc.

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TrackEye is a film digitization and target tracking system that offers the potential for quantitatively measuring the dynamic state variables (e.g., absolute and relative position, orientation, linear and angular velocity/acceleration, spin rate, trajectory, angle of attack, etc.) for moving objects using captured single or dual view image sequences. At the heart of the system is a set of tracking algorithms that automatically find and quantify the location of user selected image details such as natural test article features or passive fiducials that have been applied to cooperative test articles. This image position data is converted into real world coordinates and rates with user specified information such as the image scale and frame rate. Though tracking methods such as correlation algorithms are typically robust by nature, the accuracy and suitability of each TrackEye tracking algorithm is in general unknown even under good imaging conditions. The challenges of optimal algorithm selection and algorithm performance/measurement uncertainty are even more significant for long range tracking of high-speed targets where temporally varying atmospheric effects degrade the imagery. This paper will present the preliminary results from a controlled test sequence used to characterize the performance of the TrackEye tracking algorithm suite.

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Dynamic thermography is a promising technology for inspecting metallic and composite structures used in high-consequence industries. However, the reliability and inspection sensitivity of this technology has historically been limited by the need for extensive operator experience and the use of human judgment and visual acuity to detect flaws in the large volume of infrared image data collected. To overcome these limitations new automated data analysis algorithms and software is needed. The primary objectives of this research effort were to develop a data processing methodology that is tied to the underlying physics, which reduces or removes the data interpretation requirements, and which eliminates the need to look at significant numbers of data frames to determine if a flaw is present. Considering the strengths and weakness of previous research efforts, this research elected to couple both the temporal and spatial attributes of the surface temperature. Of the possible algorithms investigated, the best performing was a radiance weighted root mean square Laplacian metric that included a multiplicative surface effect correction factor and a novel spatio-temporal parametric model for data smoothing. This metric demonstrated the potential for detecting flaws smaller than 0.075 inch in inspection areas on the order of one square foot. Included in this report is the development of a thermal imaging model, a weighted least squares thermal data smoothing algorithm, simulation and experimental flaw detection results, and an overview of the ATAC (Automated Thermal Analysis Code) software that was developed to analyze thermal inspection data.