Sources of variability in the sand erosion testing of electro-optical materials

Matthew W. Barnett; W. Howard Poisl; Judith Young

doi:10.1117/12.2522703

13 May 2019 Sources of variability in the sand erosion testing of electro-optical materials

Matthew W. Barnett, W. Howard Poisl, Judith Young

Proceedings Volume 10985, Window and Dome Technologies and Materials XVI; 109850L (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2522703
Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2019, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

Erosion of external optics in sensing systems leads to degradation in performance. Sand impact is the most common form of window and dome erosion. Erosion from sand impact can be separated into two categories: erosion generated while on the wing of a platform in flight (known in this paper as “Platform Induced erosion”) and erosion generated on the ground during high wind events like sand storms (known in this paper as “natural environment erosion”). When qualifying materials for external optics, both categories of sand impact erosion must be evaluated. Platform Induced erosion testing is primarily performed at facilities such as the US Air Force's Particle Erosion Test Facility using a testing setup commonly known as the “sand rig”. Natural environment erosion testing, commonly referred to as “blowing sand”, is performed at various facilities around the United States with varying test setups. When interpreting data from a test setup, it is desirable to understand the variability of data collected over multiple runs and from multiple days. Understanding the sources of variability is also important. This paper presents information collected by Raytheon on fused silica test samples at the Particle Erosion Test Facility’s “sand rig” to assess the variability of data obtained from this facility. Possible sources of variability will be discussed and recommendations for performing sand erosion testing will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

Matthew W. Barnett, W. Howard Poisl, and Judith Young "Sources of variability in the sand erosion testing of electro-optical materials", Proc. SPIE 10985, Window and Dome Technologies and Materials XVI, 109850L (13 May 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2522703

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