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
Recommended Citation
Leonard, Charles P..
"Investigation of an Alternative Technique for Measuring Turbulence in the Upper Atmosphere"
(1997). Master of Science (MS), Thesis, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/63j9-sv23
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/mae_etds/587