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Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Buckner, Aaron Wesley
URN	etd-09202005-150718
Title	Optical Aberrations in a Subsonic, Compressible, Turbulent Boundary Layer
Degree	Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Department	Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Eric Jumper Committee Co-Chair Stanislav Gordeyev Committee Co-Chair Flint O. Thomas Committee Member Scott Morris Committee Member
Keywords	aero-optics turbulent boundary layer
Date of Defense	2005-09-16
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract An experimental investigation of the physical cause of optical aberrations in a compressible, subsonic, turbulent boundary layer was conducted. X-wire, surface pressure, and optical data were collected to document the coherence lengths of coherent flow structures in all three coordinate directions in a turbulent boundary layer. These coherence lengths were measured to be on the order of the boundary layer displacement thickness, and together with the high convective speed of the coherent structures indicated that optically aberrating structures were located in the outer portion of the boundary layer. Conditionally averaging the velocity and surface pressure data based on minima in the OPD yielded a large-scale, coherent, vortical flow structure. This result provides a direct link between optical aberrations and large-scale, coherent, vortical structures (and their concomitant pressure wells) in the outer portion of a turbulent boundary layer.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    BucknerAW092005.pdf 5.69 Mb 00:26:21 00:13:33 00:11:51 00:05:55 00:00:30