Date of Award

3-23-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Mathematics

Department

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

First Advisor

Benjamin F. Akers, PhD.

Abstract

The process of a megawatt laser passing through a cloud is modeled. Specifically, the potential for droplet shattering is explored as a method for clearing a path through a cloud through which a second laser may be sent unobstructed. The paraxial approximation, an approximation to Maxwell's equations, is used to model the beam propagation. The simplified cloud model has assumed a distribution of pure, timescale restricted, droplets evenly distributed with uniform radius and initial temperature. All of the radiative heating is assumed to heat the droplet, neglecting radius change and vaporization based upon characteristic time scales. A 1+1 dimensional model is solved analytically over time and used to verify a numerical model which is then scaled up and applied to the 2+1-dimensional, radially symmetric case. The process is shown to create a cleared channel in a realistic amount of time given the constraining assumptions.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENC-MS-18-M-003

DTIC Accession Number

AD1055967

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