An All Electronic, Adaptive, Focusing Schlieren System for Flight Research, Phase II

Visualization of turbulence and shock phenomena by schlieren imaging has led to important discoveries in aerodynamics, and there has been much interest in applying schlieren methods for aircraft in flight. The goal of this project is to develop the next generation of Schlieren for Aircraft in Flight (SAF) systems.

Flight testing is often used as a final critical check of aerodynamic designs developed by computational and wind tunnel methods because the information obtainable in wind tunnels is subject to interference. Outdoor schlieren systems using the sun and moon make it possible to examine shock waves and other phenomena from aircraft in flight. Applications exist in all forms of research and development associated with turbulent flow fields, including aero optics, flow control, drag, boundary layer transition, and flow separation. The proposed developments will be extremely important in flight-testing, where few such instruments can perform in a flight environment. Potential commercial applications include aero-optics, flow diagnostics, flow-control, free-space laser communication, active laser imaging, high bandwidth video transmission, spectroscopy, and high-resolution imaging.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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