Discipline: Computer Sciences and Information Management
Subcategory: Computer Engineering
Brandon Megna - Virginia State University
During the 2015 NIFS Summer Internship at LaRC research on Scintillometer Evaluation for Wind and Wake Vortex Lidar Applications was completed. Dr. Narasimha Prasad has been developing, testing, and analyzing data with scintillometers and Lidar equipment and as my mentor, has taken part in project planning and development of a program developed to analyze, condense, and secure data collected from the scintillometer and lidar equipment. The measurement of turbulence dissipation was conducted. The location of the equipment provided sn availability to visually and digitally obtain data pertaining to wind and wake vortex directly from fighter jets performing maneuvers in the area.
A scintillometer is a scientific device used to measure small fluctuations of the refractive index of air caused by variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure. It consists of an optical or radio wave transmitter and a receiver at both ends of an atmospheric propagation path. The receiver detects and evaluates the intensity fluctuations of the transmitted signal, called scintillation.
The purpose of this project is to develop, test, and implement programming code to be used in evaluation, condensing, and troubleshooting data obtained by the Scintillometer and Lidar. This research will help in the ever growing and changing field of study in aviation and aircraft safety. My experience in autonomous vehicles obtained through NASA in the past will greatly improve the success rate of this project as autonomy will provide an understanding of prevent maneuvers aircrafts may alert to pilots based on turbulent atmospheres.
Various methods and strategies will be practiced in order to complete the research/ project. Mainly, using the scintillometer in the field directly will provide the opportunity to collect data to be analyzed. Utilizing NASA equipment, laboratories, and resources will propel this study immeasurably as NASA at Langley largely focuses on aviation development and innovation. Research on base at the library will provide direct analysis and information from NASA employees based on actual testing and simulation. The Internet will be used to compare/ contrast alternative studies to be able to locate common downfalls amid this specific field of study.
In conclusion, the information obtained within the troposphere, via scintillometer and lidar data detection and analysis, will be capable of reducing cost and maintenance in flight safety and aircraft development. The research conducted throughout this summer has been extensive, practical, and necessary to the goals and objectives of NASA for many years to come.
2015_Summer_NIFS_Abstract_Megna_Brandon.docxFunder Acknowledgement(s): I thank the National Science Foundation/ HBCU-UP and NASA at Langley for providing the resources and research equipment necessary towards my development in turbulence measurement technology. I also thank A. Ansari, N. Prasad, and A. Dollete for their continued support and encouragement.
Faculty Advisor: Ali Ansari, aansari@vsu.edu