Spectral analysis of signals from a laser Doppler anemometer operating in the burst mode

Recently developed methods of spectral analysis for randomly sampled signals are applied to data acquired by a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) operating in the burst mode, where the velocity of individual particles is computed. The measurements, which were obtained in a seeded air jet, support the adoption of a Poisson model for the distribution of the particle arrival times. Spectral estimates formed from the LDA data are found to agree well with corresponding estimates obtained from a hot wire probe, and have a variability which conforms with theoretical predictions. The advantages and limitations of a simple method of reducing the variability of the spectral estimates is discussed.