Velocity, Pitch, and Yaw of Hypervelocity Projectiles by Digital Shadowgraphy

Hypervelocity ballistics ranges require imaging and analysis systems that can measure the orientation and position of projectiles to a high degree of precision. We propose to construct a modular digital imaging system that will collect two orthogonal shadowgraphs of the projectile in flight at each viewing station. We will investigate two image capturing strategies, one based on 2-D imaging with a pulsed source and CCD cameras, and the other based on 1-D imaging using a light sheet and linear sensors or streak cameras. A key focus of the projective will be development of software capable of automatically analyzing the shadowgraphs to extract key parameters, such as projectile pitch, yaw, radial position, and velocity. The image analysis procedure that we propose to employ was originally developed and successfully deployed at the Aeroballistic Research Facility (ARF) at USAF Wright Laboratories.