LASER DOPPLER FUEL FLOWMETER

OPTRA PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LASER DOPPLER FUEL FLOWMETER WITH ZERO PRESSURE DROP. THE SENSOR WILL USE A TECHNIQUE SIMILAR TO CONVENTIONAL LASER DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY (LDV) TO DIRECTLY MEASURE FLUID VELOCITY AT THE CENTER OF THE FUEL LINE. THE NON-INTRUSIVE SENSOR USES A SOLID STATE LASER DIODE SOURCE AND SILICON DETECTORS SO THAT A COMPACT, RUGGED, AND RELATIVELY LOW COST PACKAGE COULD HE DESIGNED FORINSTALLATION IN OPERATIONAL AIRCRAFT. OPTRA-S UNIQUE OPTICAL CONFIGURATION AND ROBUST SIGNAL PROCESSING ALGORITHMS WILL ALLOW LOW TECHNIQUES, WHICH HAVE UNTIL NOW BEEN EXPENSIVE LABORATORY RESEARCH DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS, TO BE IMPLEMENTED INTO A SIMPLE NONINTRUSIVE AND INEXPENSIVE FLOWMETER WITH HIGH ACCURACY DESIRED FOR ALL AIRCRAFT PROPULSION SYSTEMS.