Fiber-optic Ice Detector for Meteorological Observation

Aircraft icing would pose a threat to its flight safety.It relied on meteorological observation of icing conditions to determine potential icing areas.A novel fiber-optic ice detector,composed of icing sensors and a demodulator was proposed for the special application.Reflection and transmission fiber-optic icing sensors were used.The demodulator employed a MCU of MSP430 to implement digitally sampling-integrating algorithm and was capable of measure weak optical signals.With the help of a radiosonde,it could measure the thickness of ice.It had some good characteristics,such as effective resistance to interference,small size,low cost,light weight and low power consumption.Tests show its advantages of high sensitivity,wide measurement range and good linearity.With its unique ability of distinguishing between ice-types,this detector has a good prospect.