Efficient estimation of power spectral density from laser Doppler anemometer data

 A non-biased estimator of power spectral density (PSD) is introduced for data obtained from a zeroth order interpolated laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) data set. The systematic error, sometimes referred to as the “particle-rate filter” effect, is removed using an FIR filter parameterized using the mean particle rate. Independent from this, a procedure for estimating the measurement system noise is introduced and applied to the estimated spectra. The spectral estimation is performed in the domain of the autocorrelation function and assumes no further process parameters. The new technique is illustrated using simulated and measured data, in the latter case with direct comparison to simultaneously acquired hot-wire data.