Applications of laser tracking measurement system in wind tunnels

Laser tracking measurement system was studied for series of applications in wind tunnels. First, the fundamental principle of the laser tracking measurement system was introduced, which was based on laser interferometry and pulse laser ranging. Second, several classical applications of this technique in wind tunnels were presented, including planeness measurement of wind tunnel wall, internal contour detection of flexible spurt nozzle, rotation precision test of attack angle organ and proper alignment determination of spurt nozzle of ultrasonic wind tunnel, etc. Last, the major factors which affected the measuring precision of the technique were analyzed. The engineering applications show that the laser tracking measurement system is available for big size, high precision and real time measurement. It plays an important role in wind tunnel's constructing, debugging and maintenance missions, which indicates that the laser tracking measurement system is an accurate optical measuring technique with high practical value.