High-Speed Hartmann Turbulence Sensor Processing and Optimization for Optical Turbulence Characterization

A Hartmann Turbulence Sensor(HTS) is under development at the University of Alabama in Huntsville's System Management and Production Center in the Atmospheric Propagation Research and Development Laboratory. This sensor takes time-lapse images along the path of interest and using these images characterizes the turbulence strength using the refractive index structure parameter. While still in the early stages of development, this high-speed sensor takes images (1kHz frame rate) and provides real-time atmospheric turbulence measurements. During development, the HTS will also be used to research the Difference of Differential Tilt Variance(DDTV) processing algorithm. The overarching goal of the research is to optimize the processing algorithm so fewer calculations are needed for convergence toward acceptable turbulence parameters, as compared to sensors considered to be industry standards, such as the DELTA and Scintec’s BLS series sensors. This study presents the initial testing of the HTS sensor, validation of real-time high temporal resolution measurements, and compares the turbulence strength values calculated from the HTS to those of the DELTA and BLS Scintillometer. Initial results will be presented and future work involving hardware, image acquisition software improvements, and DDTV algorithm optimization are outlined.