MRI: Development of Enhanced T-Probe for Aircraft Measurement of Mixed Phase Ice-Water Cloud

这一主要研究仪器开发项目将大大扩展最近开发的仪器T型探头的操作特性。 这是一种测量云的液态水和冰含量的仪器。 在目前的配置中，三个并列但独立的传感器测量液态水，冰和液态水的组合（冰含量的差异），以及参考空气速度和密度。 该仪器将通过增加电力供应得到改进，从而使目前冰/水含量的测量极限增加一倍以上，达到每立方米两克以上。 最重要的是，这种改进还将包括当探头被高浓度的液体和/或冰颗粒淹没时过量的水或冰的脱落的指示。 将采用视频显微镜目视确认收集的颗粒撞击探针时的命运。 在完成开发和初步测试后，改进的T型探头将在单独的资金下进行现场测试。 该项目将是学科科学家、工程师和私营部门的合作。智力优势：混合相微物理过程导致冰相沉淀、电荷分离、增强的化学反应性以及有利于增强飞机结构和发动机结冰的环境。 所有液态水和云中所有冰之间的界面可能只有几十到几百米厚。 使用T型探测器的高分辨率测量对于验证这些过渡区尺度特征上的云组成至关重要。 空间分辨率提高到小于10米，可以实现所提出的modifies.Broader影响：开发和使用这种仪器是非常适合研究生培训的仪器类在高级本科和研究生水平。 该项目的经验将在内华达州大学里诺的课程中使用，该课程由PI（ATMS 748）定期教授，每学期10-15名学生。 T型探测器的开发将为学生提供机会，通过建设，测试，飞机部署和应用到新的探索遵循一个想法。 除了课堂和前面提到的大气研究问题之外，更好地描述混合相云的条件将改善航空安全。

This Major Research Instrumentation development project will significantly extend the operating characteristics of a recently developed instrument, the T-probe. This is an instrument to measure liquid water and ice content of clouds. In the current configuration, three collocated but separate sensors measure liquid water, and ice and liquid water combined (the difference giving the ice content), together with reference air speed and density. The instrument will be improved by increasing power availability, leading to more than doubling the present measurement limit of ice/water content to beyond two grams per cubic meter. Most important, this improvement also will include indication of shedding of excess water or ice when the probe is overwhelmed by high concentrations of liquid and/or ice particles. A video microscope will be employed to visually confirm the fate of collected particles as they strike the probe. Following completion of development and initial testing, the modified T-probe will be field tested under separate funding. This project will be a collaboration of discipline scientists, engineers, and the private sector.Intellectual merit: Mixed-phase microphysical processes lead to ice-phase precipitation, electric-charge separation, enhanced chemical reactivity, and an environment conducive to enhanced aircraft structure and engine icing. The interface between all liquid water and all ice in clouds may be only a few tens to a few hundreds of meters in thickness. High resolution measurements using the T-probe are critical to verify cloud composition on scales characteristic of these transition regions. Improvement in spatial resolution to less than 10 meters can be achieved by the proposed modifications.Broader impacts: Development and use of this instrument is ideally suited for graduate student training in an instrument class at both advanced undergraduate and graduate levels. Experiences from the project will be employed in a University of Nevada, Reno course regularly taught by the PI (ATMS 748) to 10-15 students per semester. T-probe development will provide opportunities for students to follow an idea through construction, testing, aircraft deployment, and application to new exploration. Beyond the classroom and beyond the atmospheric research issues previously mentioned, better characterization of mixed phase cloud conditions will result in improvements in aviation safety.