Predicting Air Turbulence Through an Underlying, Complicated Pattern

  • Published
  • By Maria Callier (Anadarko/CIBER)
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs
ARLINGTON, Va. --  The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is funding scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who are studying how to detect and predict air turbulence by means of detecting a complicated pattern that underlies it.

Dr. George Haller, professor of mechanical engineering, and MIT graduate student Manikandan Mathur lead a team researching the impact of turbulence on engines, airframes, and air travelers themselves. They call their discovery the "Lagrangian skeleton" of turbulence because their particle-based approach is inspired by the work of Joseph Louis Lagrange, a 19th Century mathematician.

The air pattern structure underlying turbulence is an ever-changing configuration that entrains any nearby particles (pollutants and ice crystals in the stratosphere) in that they are brought together and pushed apart and these motions are detectable by monitoring the backscattering of on-board, or possibly space-based, lasers. The scientists use non-linear, dynamical systems theory to translate the data thus recorded to uncover these effects.

The researchers believe that these structures will make it possible to forecast clear-air turbulence for manned or unmanned military aircraft. The work is also important for the safety of high-altitude Air Force operations and for the stable pointing of on-board laser weapons.

The team is currently reducing the time it takes to produce detailed pictures of the structures. This will help reduce the large amount of time it takes to produce the detailed pictures of the structures.

"Another challenge is in the area of wind speed near airports so we are developing laser-based scanning techniques that yield more complete wind information," added Haller.

"We also see a great potential for the 'Lagrangian skeleton' approach in homeland security, where locating the source of a dispersed chemical or radioactive pollution is of high importance," Haller said. "Locating the Lagrangian skeleton of air turbulence will enable us to trace back the source of contamination."

By funding research programs like the one mentioned here, led by Dr. Haller and his team at MIT, AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program.