TNO has expanded its 30 kW HEL research facility with the capability to monitor specular and diffuse reflections of the laser beam. A capture screen and high-speed camera focus on dynamic specular reflections, while 15 individually placeable probes monitor the diffuse component under different angles. This paper introduces the reflection measurement capability and discusses the behaviour of steel and aluminium coupons under high-energy laser irradiation. Laser-material interaction was found to be rather predictable in thermal behaviour up to the perforation event. Reflections, however, showed a highly dynamic pattern, varying in magnitude and direction and depending on bulk material, material surface condition, phase state of the material (solid or liquid) and geometry. The difficulty of assessing proper stand-off distances for laser safety is illustrated.
This paper will report the use of spectroscopy in a series of experiments in which a High Energy Laser (HEL) interacts with target materials. After a brief description of the 30 kW L3O laser facility at TNO, the experimental results will be discussed. The main research question is whether spectroscopy can contribute to analysing the behaviour of the material during the interaction while the HEL is illuminating the target material. Selected experimental results will be shown and discussed. Conclusions will be drawn on how spectroscopy can contribute to analysing the HEL-material interaction indoors and potentially outdoors.
This paper discusses the use of smoke obscurants as countermeasures against high energy lasers (HEL). Potential success of the smoke does not depend only the performance of the smoke. The transmission loss in the smoke is part of a chain of system components, including warning sensors, smoke launchers, etc..
The core of the paper deals with experimental work on the following research questions:
- Does smoke attenuate an incoming beam of a HEL?
- Does the HEL affect the smoke itself?
The experimental set-up with the TNO 30kW HEL and the scale model for the smoke transmission path will be shown. Selected experimental results will be shown and discussed. Finally we will compare the results to theoretical calculations and we will analyze the properties of an ideal HEL attenuation smoke.
High Energy Laser (HEL) is enjoying great interest around the globe, prompting explicit knowledge-building. TNO, the leading defence research institute of the Netherlands, has established a physics-based HEL system performance assessment tool, encompassing all aspects relevant to the effective use of HEL in the military operational environment. TNO also created two experimental facilities that provide validation data for the assessment tool. The tool and facilities are presented here, and a few examples of the validation efforts are given.
This paper will report on a first series of experiments of High Energy Laser effects on drones and drone components at TNO. After a description of the 30kW L3O laser facility at TNO, the experimental results will be discussed. The experiments were performed in an indoor facility and some considerations will be given on how to set up the experiments to enable “translation” of the experimental results to outdoor operational scenarios. The results illustrate that there can be large variations in the illumination time of the High Energy Laser on the target before fatal damage is observed, depending on the specific drone component selected as target. This illustrates that target aimpoint selection is critical for the result and a good understanding of the weak spots of drones is required to enable High Energy Laser systems to be effective against drones.
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