General Matrix Inversion Technique for the Calibration of Electric Field Sensor Arrays on Aircraft Platforms

A matrix calibration procedure has been developed that uniquely relates the electric fields measured at the aircraft with the external vector electric field and net aircraft charge. The calibration method can be generalized to any reasonable combination of electric field measurements and aircraft. A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 2007-09, Vol.24 (9), p.1576-1587
Main Authors: Mach, D M, Koshak, W J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft
Calibration
Coordinate transformations
Electric fields
Mathematical analysis
Matrix
Measurement errors
Measuring instruments
Software packages
Studies
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Summary:A matrix calibration procedure has been developed that uniquely relates the electric fields measured at the aircraft with the external vector electric field and net aircraft charge. The calibration method can be generalized to any reasonable combination of electric field measurements and aircraft. A calibration matrix is determined for each aircraft that represents the individual instrument responses to the external electric field. The aircraft geometry and configuration of field mills (FMs) uniquely define the matrix. The matrix can then be inverted to determine the external electric field and net aircraft charge from the FM outputs. A distinct advantage of the method is that if one or more FMs need to be eliminated or deemphasized (e.g., due to a malfunction), it is a simple matter to reinvert the matrix without the malfunctioning FMs. To demonstrate the calibration technique, data are presented from several aircraft programs (ER-2, DC-8, Altus, and Citation).
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/JTECH2080.1