METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING THE THICKNESS OF ICE ON A SURFACE, NOTABLY OF AN AIRCRAFT, USING A LUMINOUS PATTERN GENERATED BY DIFFUSION IN THE ICE

摘要

A system and method for providing an estimate of the thickness of the ice regardless of the shape of its surface at the level of the air/ice interface. To this end the system and method measure an intensity profile of a luminous pattern generated by diffusion in the ice, which enables the system to measure the thickness of the ice even when the air/ice surface is not plane.

主权项

1. A system for measuring a thickness of ice on a surface, in particular of an aircraft, the system comprising:
a light source configured to project a collimated beam onto the surface to generate a luminous pattern by diffusion in the ice; an imaging device configured to acquire an image of the ice including the luminous pattern; a measuring unit configured to measure on the image a luminous intensity profile of the luminous pattern; and a calculation unit configured to estimate the thickness of ice present on the surface as a function of the luminous intensity profile, wherein the measuring unit is configured to measure a width of the intensity profile and the calculation unit is configured to estimate the thickness of ice as a function of the width of the intensity profile and from at least one predetermined table.