LOW FLYING HEIGHT MEASUREMENT WITH MULTI-WAVELENGTH INTERFEROMETRY

A method for measurement of ultra-low flying height in head-disk spacing is described. Three different wavelengths are selected out from white light by filters to measure the spacing simultaneously. Besides solving the ambiguity problem, a more reliable result is achieved by using weighted average of measurement results from three different wavelengths, where the weight is dependent upon spacing. Fringe-bunching correction algorithm （FBC） and spot-tilling technique are adopted to suppress calibration and random errors. Moreover, incident bandwidth correction （IBC） method is introduced to compensate the error caused by low monochromaticity of incident light. Based on dynamic flying height tester （DFHT Ⅱ）, with the redesigned of photo-electric conversion and signal acquirement module, an instrument has been developed. And comparing the experimental data from the instrument with those from a KLA-FHT D6, the discrepancy is less than 5%. It indicates that the instrument is suitable to perform ultra-low flying height measurement and satisfies the reauirement of magnetic heads manufacturing.

Analysis of unmanned aerial vehicle navigation and height control system based on GPS

According to the characteristic of global positioning system（GPS） reflection signals,a GPS delay mapping receiver system scheme is put forward,which not only satisfies the unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV） guidance localization but also realizes height measurement.A code delay algorithm is put forward,which processes the direct and land reflected signal and outputs the navigation data and specular point.The GPS terrain reflected echo signal mathematical equation is inferred.The reflecting signal area,when the GPS signal passes the land,is analyzed.The height survey model reflected land surface characteristic is established.A simulation system which carries guidance localization of the UAV and the height measuring control through the GPS direct signal and the land reflected signal is designed,taken the GPS satellite as the illumination source,the receiver is put on the UAV.Then the UAV guidance signal,the GPS reflection signal and receiver＇s parallel processing are realized.The parallel processing reduces UAV＇s payload and raises system＇s operating efficiency.The simulation results confirms the validity of the model and also provides the basis for the UAV＇s optimization design.

Experimental Investigation of Wave Heights in A Directional Wave Field Through Image Sequences

Measurements of wave heights with image sequences from a Charged Coupled Device(CCD) camera were made. Sinusoidal, as well as unidirectional and directional, waves were used for the experiments. A transfer function was obtained by calibration of the magnitudes of the gray values of the images against the results of wave gauge measurements for directional waves. With this transfer function, wave heights for regular waves were deduced. It is shown that the average relative errors are smaller than 16% for both unidirectional and directional waves.

Measuring boundary-layer height under clear and cloudy conditions using three instruments

Boundary-layer height （BLH） under clear, altostratus and low stratus cloud conditions were measured by GPS sounding, wind profiler radar, and micro-pulse lidar during the atmospheric radiation measurement experiment from Sep. to Dec. 2008 in Shouxian, Anhui, China. Results showed that during daytime or nighttime, regardless of cloud conditions, the GPS sounding was the most accurate method for measuring BLH. Unfortunately, because of the long time gap between launchings, sounding data did not capture the diurnal evolution of the BLH. Thus, wind profile radar emerged as a promising instrument for direct and continuous measurement of the mixing height during the daytime, accurately determining BLH using the structure parameter of the electromagnetic refractive index. However, during nighttime, radar was limited by weak signal extraction and did not work well for determining the BLH of the stable boundary layer, often recording the BLH of the residual layer. While micro-pulse lidar recorded the evolution of BLH, it overestimated the BLH of the stable boundary layer. This method also failed to work under cloudy conditions because of the influence of water vapor. Future work needs to develop a method to determine BLH that combines the complimentary features of all three algorithms.