Measurement capabilities of planar Doppler velocimetry using pulsed lasers.

Analytical models of a spectral filter that contains iodine vapor and of the noise sources associated with charge-coupled-device (CCD) detector technology are combined with a planar Doppler velocimetry (PDV) signal analysis to evaluate the measurement capabilities of PDV for quantitative aerodynamic research and production wind-tunnel testing applications. The criteria for optimizing the filter cell and calibrating the frequency scale of its transmission function are described. The measurement uncertainty limits owing to scientific-grade CCD detector performance are then evaluated, and an analysis is developed of the scattering properties of aerosols suitable for aerodynamic flow seeding. The combined results predict that single-pulse PDV measurements with velocity measurement uncertainties as small as 2 m/s should be possible in aerodynamic test facilities for measurement distances of tens of meters.