Browsing by Author "Priestley, Kory J."

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Analytical and Experimental Characterization of a Linear-Array Thermopile Scanning Radiometer for Geo-Synchronous Earth Radiation Budget Applications
    Sorensen, Ira Joseph (Virginia Tech, 1998-11-30)
    The Thermal Radiation Group, a laboratory in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, is currently working towards the development of a new technology for cavity-based radiometers. The radiometer consists of a 256-element linear-array thermopile detector mounted on the wall of a mirrored wedge-shaped cavity. The objective of this research is to provide analytical and experimental characterization of the proposed radiometer. A dynamic end-to-end opto-electrothermal model is developed to simulate the performance of the radiometer. Experimental results for prototype thermopile detectors are included. Also presented is the concept of the discrete Green's function to characterize the optical scattering of radiant energy in the cavity, along with a data-processing algorithm to correct for the scattering. Finally, a parametric study of the sensitivity of the discrete Green's function to uncertainties in the surface properties of the cavity is presented.
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    Design and analysis of radiometric instruments using high-level numerical models and genetic algorithms
    Sorensen, Ira Joseph (Virginia Tech, 2002-11-15)
    A primary objective of the effort reported here is to develop a radiometric instrument modeling environment to provide complete end-to-end numerical models of radiometric instruments, integrating the optical, electro-thermal, and electronic systems. The modeling environment consists of a Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) model of the optical system coupled to a transient, three-dimensional finite-difference electrothermal model of the detector assembly with an analytic model of the signal-conditioning circuitry. The environment provides a complete simulation of the dynamic optical and electrothermal behavior of the instrument. The modeling environment is used to create an end-to-end model of the CERES scanning radiometer, and its performance is compared to the performance of an operational CERES total channel as a benchmark. A further objective of this effort is to formulate an efficient design environment for radiometric instruments. To this end, the modeling environment is then combined with evolutionary search algorithms known as genetic algorithms (GA's) to develop a methodology for optimal instrument design using high-level radiometric instrument models. GA's are applied to the design of the optical system and detector system separately and to both as an aggregate function with positive results.
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    Next-Generation Earth Radiation Budget Instrument Concepts
    Coffey, Katherine Leigh (Virginia Tech, 1998-11-30)
    The current effort addresses two issues important to the research conducted by the Thermal Radiation Group at Virginia Tech. The first research topic involves the development of a method which can properly model the diffraction of radiation as it enters an instrument aperture. The second topic involves the study of a potential next-generation space-borne radiometric instrument concept. Presented are multiple modeling efforts to describe the diffraction of monochromatic radiant energy passing through an aperture for use in the Monte-Carlo ray-trace environment. Described in detail is a deterministic model based upon Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the particle theory of light. This method is applicable to either Fraunhofer or Fresnel diffraction situations, but is incapable of predicting the secondary fringes in a diffraction pattern. Also presented is a second diffraction model, based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle with a correcting obliquity factor. This model is useful for predicting Fraunhofer diffraction, and can predict the secondary fringes because it keeps track of phase. NASA is planning for the next-generation of instruments to follow CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System), an instrument which measures components of the Earth's radiant energy budget in three spectral bands. A potential next-generation concept involves modification of the current CERES instrument to measure in a larger number of wavelength bands. This increased spectral partitioning would be achieved by the addition of filters and detectors to the current CERES geometry. The capacity of the CERES telescope to serve for this purpose is addressed in this thesis.
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    Numerical Focusing of a Wide Field-of-View Instrument for Monitoring the Planetary Energy Budget
    Ashraf, Anum Barki; Mahan, J. Robert; Priestley, Kory J.; Shankar, Mohan (MDPI, 2019-09-21)
    Wide field-of-view optical instruments based on Ritchey-Crétien telescopes have been proposed to replace narrow field-of-view scanning instruments for Earth radiation budget monitoring applications. A disadvantage of such instruments is that they are subject to significant focal plane distortion. A novel numerical focusing scheme is proposed and demonstrated using a Monte Carlo ray-trace-based simulation of the performance of a candidate instrument. Results are presented which indicate that image recovery error can be significantly reduced using the proposed algorithm.
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    Predicted Dynamic Electrothermal Performance Of Thermistor Bolometer Radiometers For Earth Radiation Budget Applications
    Haeffelin, M. P. A.; Mahan, J. Robert; Priestley, Kory J. (Optical Society of America, 1997-05-01)
    The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) rely on scanning thermistor bolometer radiometers of a similar design for accomplishing their mission. High-level dynamic electrothermal models of these instruments have been developed on the basis of the Monte Carlo ray-trace, finite-difference, and finite-element methods. The models are capable of simulating the end-to-end response of the ERBE and the CERES instruments to simulated sequences of Earth scenes. Such models will prove useful in the design of future generations of similar instruments, in defining ground-based and in-flight calibration and data-reduction strategies, in the interpretation of flight data, and in understanding data anomalies that might arise after the instruments have been placed in orbit. Two modules that make up the end-to-end model are presented: the optical-thermal radiative module and the thermistor bolometer dynamic electrothermal module. The optics module is used to determine the point-spread function of the optics, which establishes that the instrument has sharply defined footprints on the Earth. Results obtained with the thermistor bolometer dynamic electrothermal module provide valuable insights into the details of channel operation and establish its high level of equivalence. The combination of the two modules allows the point-spread function of the instrument to be determined and reveals the potential of this tool for scanning realistic Earth scenes. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.
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    Uncertainty and Confidence Intervals of the Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method in Radiation Heat Transfer
    Sanchez, Maria Cristina (Virginia Tech, 2002-11-15)
    The primary objective of the work reported here is to develop a methodology to predict the uncertainty associated with radiation heat transfer problems solved using the Monte Carlo ray-trace method (MCRT). Four equations are developed to predict the uncertainty of the distribution factor from one surface to another, the global uncertainty of all the distribution factors in an enclosure, the uncertainty of the net heat flux from a surface, and the global uncertainty of the net heat flux from all the surfaces in an enclosure, respectively. Numerical experiments are performed to successfully validate these equations and to study the impact of various parameters such as the number of surfaces in an enclosure, the number of energy bundles traced in the MCRT model, the fractional uncertainty of emissivity and temperature, and the temperature distribution in the enclosure. Finally, the methodology is successfully applied to a detailed MCRT model of a CERES-like radiometer.