Analyzing data from a PDV microphone

Abstract

Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) is used at Los Alamos National Laboratory to measure extremely fast velocities (on the order of 0.01 - 5 km/s) of projectiles during material testing procedures. This kind of testing is extremely important to understand how materials behave in extreme conditions (such as in nuclear explosions). PDV data is created by summing an incident beam with a Doppler shifted reflection, forming a beat frequency. The beat frequency is directly proportional to the velocity of the reflecting surface. We explored a new way of using PDV: measuring slow velocities (less than 1 m/s). The principle method we used was to measure vibrations in a Mylar sheet due to incident sound waves. I analyzed these files using both my own coding as well as a program designed at NSTec for this purpose. Analysis included performing Fourier Transforms, extracting velocity as a function of time, and playing the velocity function through a speaker to recreate the initial sound. We were able to create a successful microphone, though playback quality was poor. The limiting factor was the low velocity of the Mylar sheet, which was about 0.2 m/s. Other methods are now being explored to extract velocity data in a more efficient manner. During this project I gained extensive experience in programming, data analysis, problem solving, and communication. I learned that one must be creative in order to solve complex problems, approaching them from various angles. I also gained a lot of practice working on a team, which consisted of a high school student, another college intern, and our mentor.