Method of estimation of turbulence characteristic scales

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optical method using phase data from a Shack-Hartmann sensor to estimate turbulence inner and outer scales, simplifying the analysis by sequentially solving single-parameter problems.

Contribution

It presents a novel optical technique that estimates turbulence scales without requiring the refractive index structure constant, improving measurement efficiency.

Findings

Successfully applied to water cell turbulence measurements

Estimated both inner and outer turbulence scales

Reduced analysis complexity by sequential parameter estimation

Abstract

Here we propose an optical method that use phase data of a laser beam obtained from Shack-Hartmann sensor to estimate both inner and outer scales of turbulence. The method is based on the sequential analysis of normalized correlation functions of Zernike coefficients. It allows excluding the value of refractive index structural constant from the analysis and reduces the solution of a two-parameter problem to sequential solution of two single-parameter problems. The method has been applied to analyze the results of measurements of the laser beam that propagated through a water cell with induced turbulence and yielded estimates for outer and inner scales.