Date of Award

Spring 1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Program/Concentration

Aerospace Engineering

Committee Director

Robert L. Ash

Committee Member

Ponnampalam Balakumar

Committee Member

Colin P. Britcher

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E535 L46

Abstract

The capability of the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a tool for measuring turbulence in the upper atmosphere is presented. By studying experimental ground and flight test data, a methodology for extracting macroscale turbulence data from in situ measurements was developed.

A description of the GPS using a single nonprecision receiver is followed by data from ground and flight testing. Ground testing focused on determining the smallest turbulent scales discernible by the GPS receiver. Testing was also undertaken to compare turbulence data from the GPS with that of a simultaneously operating constant-temperature hot-wire anemometer, the conventional tool for making turbulence measurements. A zero-pressure balloon launched from NASA Wallops Island provided the platform for stratospheric flight testing. The correlation between radar and GPS data was investigated over the ascent portion of the flight. Due to the limitations of a single non-precision receiver in absolute positioning, a method employing relative differential positioning (and therefore differential velocities) is proposed to capture turbulence data.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/63j9-sv23

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