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An Optical Instrument to Measure Cloud Liquid Water Content and Droplet Spectra

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
Army 		Award ID:
18375 		Program Year/Program:
1993 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
18375 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
SPEC Incorporated
3022 Sterling Circle Suite 200 Boulder, CO 80301-2377
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Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 2
Fiscal Year: 1993
Title: An Optical Instrument to Measure Cloud Liquid Water Content and Droplet Spectra
Agency / Branch: DOD / ARMY
Contract: N/A
Award Amount: $589,766.00
 

Abstract:

In fogs, accretion of supercooled water drops is responsible for icing of power lines and structures. In clouds, the same process causes icing on aircraft. In both cases the concentration and size of liquid wate drops, along with their velocity relative to the icing surface, primarily determines the shape and mass of the accreted ice. Better measurements of the concentration and size of water drops in fogs and clouds are needed to improve predictions of ice accretion. In Phase I, we do numerical simulations and perform laboratory tests of a new optical instrument for measurieng liquid water content and drop spectra. The new device makes high-resolution measurmentrs of the angular distribution of diffracted light from an 'ensemble' of water drops. Using weighting functions, liquid water content is computed in software. Using inversion techniques, the same set of measurments are then used to compute drop spectra without a priori assumption of the shape of the spectra. The new instruments works without the need to measure air velocity and temperature. In Phase II, we will build a reggedized, microprocessor-based, field version of the instrument that functions without operator intervention.

Principal Investigator:

Robert H. Cormack
3034491105

Business Contact:

Small Business Information at Submission:

Stratton Park Engrg Co, Inc.
5401 Western Avenue, Suite B Boulder, CO 80301

EIN/Tax ID:
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No