ANNUAL REPORT 2010

F r e n c h - G e r m a n R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e o f S a i n t - L o u i s

The French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis is a binational institution es-

tablished by the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the basis of

a treaty signed in 1958.

Additionally to its original mission “Research, scientifi c studies and basic predevelop-

ment in the armament domain”, ISL has reinforced its activities on problems of civil

security and countermeasures against terrorism encountered both at home and during

overseas military operations.

The classical working areas of ISL include: acoustics, detonics, development of laser

sources, high-power electronics, optronics and sensors, protection and environment

of soldiers, aerodynamics and fl ight mechanics, ballistics, laser-matter interaction and

high-power microwaves.

In a network of partnerships with other European institutes, technical and scientifi c

services and industrial partners, ISL offers its scientifi c and technological competence

to the Ministries of Defence for the development of new technologies to ensure the

current and future capabilities of the armed forces.

The technological concept of the DGA in France and the corresponding document of the

BMVg in Germany have led ISL to focus its capabilities on key multidisciplinary projects,

i.e. threat characterization and protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs),

nanomaterials, lightweight medium-calibre weapons, guided supersonic projectiles.

The last two topics are studies on partial concepts of generic systems.

Within the framework of opening ISL to European structures, ISL is participating in

European Defence Agency (EDA) programmes as well as in the 7th R&D Framework

Programme (FP7) and following programmes of the European Commission. ISL is also

a member of EUROTECH and of the French National Working Group for Security (GTN)

and submits tenders to calls of the French National Research Agency (ANR) and of the

German National Security Research Programme NaSiFPrg.

French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis

Detonics: Development of laser-initiated igniters and detonators for rockets and space

applications. Correlation between explosive microstructure and shock sensitivity using

new advanced characterization techniques. Design of special charges including cut-

ting charges, fragmentation warheads, etc. Synthesis and characterization of new

energetic and inert nanomaterials for military and civil applications.

Protection and perforation: Active protection, new armour materials: steels and ce-

ramics, electric armour against shaped charges, medium-calibre projectiles, numerical

simulations of terminal ballistic effects, projectile with enhanced lateral effi ciency

(PELE®).

Laser sources and their applications: Modulated fi bre laser, Raman laser, counter-

measures in the IR, new laser materials ( = 2 m and 3–5 m).

Protection of military personnel: Development of innovative protectors (passive or active)

against continuous and weapon noise, improvement of audio communication in noisy

environments by using specifi c transducers and adapted signal processing techniques, im-

provement of the soldier’s “natural” capabilities for acoustic information processing.

Internal ballistics: Plasma ignition of solid propellants, ETC gun, temperature-independent

solid propellants, solid propellants with low sensitivity and high loading densities, sand-

wich powders with enhanced combustion behaviour, simulation of interior ballistics

phenomena, closed vessel experiments, spectroscopy for analyzing combustion processes.

High pulsed power technology: Development of compact semiconductor switches,

metrology of high currents and voltages, circuitry development for gate units, con-

struction of compact pulsed power units, development of high-power silicon carbide

(SiC) devices, high-voltage Marx generators, railguns, electronic detection systems

based on e.g. NQR, magnetic induction.

Optronics and sensors: Development of robust, g-hardened components for projectiles

and missiles: electronics for munitions to increase the performance in precision and

range, for munitions appropriate for avoiding collateral damage, and for reconnais-

sance purposes.

Aerodynamics and fl ight mechanics: Determination of aerodynamic parameters, navigation and

terminal guidance with low-cost gun-hardened sensors, control by impulse thrusters - lateral

jets - plasma and micro mechanisms, development of new measurement technologies, studies

of blast effects on models of buildings in shock tubes for infrastructure protection, heat transfer

measurements on generic missile models and projectiles, countermeasures against TBM threats.

Homeland security: Area surveillance (acoustic, seismic, magnetic and optical sensors

embedded in a sensor network), IED-threat characterization and protection studies (blast

and kinetic effects from fragments, explosively formed projectiles, etc.), development

of an active imaging system and an observation grenade, acoustic detection of snipers.

Research

Activities

ANNUAL REPORT

2010

CONTENTS

2 Foreword

4 Organization Chart

6 Highlights 2010

8 Perforation – Protection – Detonics10 An Overview of the Powder Metallurgy Process Applied to

Nanostructured Material Manufacturing

20 Aerodynamics – Flight Mechanics – Munitronics22 Application of the Coloured Background Oriented Schlieren

Technique to the Reconstruction of the Density Field

28 Optronics – Lasers – Sensors

30 Launchers – Pulsed Power Technology – Acoustics32 Advanced Perception for the Dismounted Soldier.

“PAF” Project

42 Business Development

46 Patents and Licences 2010

48 Selection of Publications 2010

As a research institute serving prima-

rily the defence and security commu-

nities, and a Supervisory Body headed

jointly by a representative of the French

“Direction Générale de l’Armement”

and a representative of the German

Ministry of Defence, the life of our

Institute is heavily infl uenced by the

various agendas of those sectors.

In 2010, a major reform of the French

Ministry of Defence was in its second

year of implementation, while the Ger-

man Ministry of Defence was crafting

its own upheaval. Accordingly, 2010

has been a year of consolidation of the

transformation of ISL initiated three

years ago. In parallel, the Board of

Trustees is determined to issue by the

end of 2011 an updated strategic

agenda that will give a new impetus to

ISL, taking into account a strongly

modifi ed environment.

Improving the support given to our

scientists, so that they may work out

the best research, is a permanent goal

of ISL. Several meaningful projects,

including daring solutions not yet en-

forced by our parent administrations,

have come to fruition in 2010, improv-

ing the effi ciency and fl exibility of our

operations as well as reducing signifi -

cantly our operating costs.

Meanwhile, our scientifi c projects have

developed at a steady pace.

The “Agence Nationale de la Recher-

che” (France) made a grant to ISL for

its Gun Launched Micro Air Vehicle

(GMLAV), a project mainly for secu-

rity forces, that exemplifi es the inter-

nal synergies mustered by the large

interdisciplinarity of our Institute. An-

other example of this overarching ca-

pability of ISL is the global

technology project “Detection of ex-

plosives and illicit substances” started

in June 2010, that bundles all the

detection methods investigated at ISL:

terahertz, Nuclear Quadrupolar Reso-

nance, LIPS, electrophoresis, chemical

gas sensors.

Research in the domain of nanomate-

rials for defence and security purpos-

es has been strongly reinforced, with

the addition of a new research group.

Building on its excellence in the coun-

ter-IED domain, ISL has initiated new

collaborations with German institu-

tions. ISL has organized a workshop

on “Maintaining Competencies in In-

FOREWORD

3

terior Ballistics”, as a continuing ef-

fort, addressing the needs of our

patrons, to preserve key competencies,

even in times when no signifi cant pro-

gramme to put them into practice may

be envisioned for the coming years.

The ARCADIS project, a system of

change detection designed to help

military patrol vehicles detect possible

Improvised Explosive Devices along

their itineraries, that has reached Tech-

nology Readiness Level 7 (whilst most

ISL projects belong to basic research

– TRLs 1 to 3), has come signifi cant-

ly close to an operational solution, so

that when it was demonstrated during

the dynamic exhibitions of Eurosatory

2010 – a premiere for a research in-

stitute, – it met with immediate inter-

est from defence procurement

agencies, defence & security compa-

nies, and end-users. ISL will continue

to refi ne its solution and will transfer

its know-how to integrators.

Range-gated active imaging technolo-

gies, allowing vision through mist,

smoke, or particle-charged liquids,

have reached new steps in their devel-

opment, with the fi rst trials aboard a

test submarine.

EPPL (European Pulsed Power Lab-

oratories), a cluster of six European

laboratories conducting research in

the fi eld of pulsed power technologies

and their applications was initiated by

ISL and founded offi cially in June

2010. Under the aegis of EPPL, those

six institutions will observe a joint re-

search programme, endeavour to ani-

mate these topics internationally

through workshops, symposia and con-

ferences, and apply jointly for con-

tracts, in particular European research

contracts.

The quality of its scientists, as well as

a deserved reputation for providing in-

dependent advice, has also led ISL to

provide expertise to both Ministries of

Defence, and to other organizations, not

least to the European Defence Agency.

The growing grand total of our industry

contracts and of earned grants from

various organizations validates – in

parallel to an ongoing external research

evaluation – both the relevance of our

research fi elds and the excellence that

ISL scientists achieve in those do-

mains. This, in turn, challenges our

ability to continue to expand our own

resources, both on the issue of the

overall consistency of our research

activities, as well as on that of main-

taining for those activities manage-

ment overheads adapted to the size of

our Institute.

This is one of many challenges await-

ing us in 2011. As a year during which

so many initiatives prepared in the past

three years have blossomed, 2010 re-

minds us of how much ISL owes to

Alain Picq, who was replaced this sum-

mer by Christian de Villemagne, after

4 vibrant years as French Director, de-

voted to modernising our Institute. The

other signatory of the present foreword,

who formed a pair with Alain Picq for

the past three years, will also hand over

the baton to a new German Director by

the end of 2010. Beyond those chang-

es, that fuel a continuous appetite for

progress, the men and women of ISL

strive permanently for excellence in

their domains, and much more is to

come next year: 2011 will be exciting!

C. de VILLEMAGNE - MinR M. WEIAND

French and German Directors

OrganizatiOn Chart

Directors

Manager of Corporate Affairs

Communication

Quality Security

Environment

Business Development

Office

Manager of Scientific Affairs

Perforation Protection Detonics

Aerodynamics Flight Mechanics

Munitronics

Optronics Lasers

Sensors

Launchers Pulsed Power Technology

Acoustics

HIGHLIGHTS 2010

January February MarchReactivating a NATO Working Group

On ISL’s initiative, the NATO Working

Group devoted to the 6- and 7-de-

grees-of-freedom trajectory ballistic

models for conventional and guided

projectiles (standard model “STANAG

4618”) was reactivated. The meeting,

organized at ISL with the dynamic

support of the DGA, brought together

9 nations.

Visit from the Defence Procurement Attaché and Scientifi c Advisor to the German Embassy in Paris

Mr Rolf Gerner, Defence Procurement

Attaché and Dr. Klaus Matthes, Scien-

tifi c Advisor to the German Embassy,

came to fi nd out about ISL on 25 and

26 February 2010. The visit was organ-

ized following an encounter the previous

year at the OPTO Trade Show in Paris,

where ISL exhibited the night vision

system at a booth of the “Vehicle of the

Future Technology” area.

European Pulsed Power Laboratories

On ISL’s initiative, organizations special-

izing in pulsed power in 5 European

countries (Belgium, France, Germany,

Italy and Lithuania) decided to combine

their strengths and set up a joint la-

boratory to pool their interests and know-

how in the fi eld of pulsed power, which

offers far-reaching prospects in both the

civilian and military sectors. The kick-off

meeting and signing of the agreement

founding the EPPL took place at ISL in

Saint-Louis on 12 March 2010.

March April MayMOTAR Cooperation Meeting

MOTAR stands for “Measurement and

Observation Techniques for Aerospace

Research”, a French-German initiative

running since 1994.

This year, some 45 experts from DLR,

ONERA and ISL met on 29 and

30 March 2010 to discuss optical

diagnosis methods applicable to fl ows

and fl uids. The range of applications

covers state-of-the-art metrology meth-

ods, ultrafast laser measurements,

and the simulation of space probes

re-entering the atmosphere.

Meeting of the Directors of German Government-Funded Research Institutes

A concertation meeting on the subject

of armament research within institutes

funded by the German Ministry of

Defence takes place every six months

under the chairmanship of the Re-

search Director of the BMVg, the “Min-

isterialdirigent” Erwin Bernhard. This

meeting also presents an opportunity

to report on the development of re-

search policy and its practical applica-

tion by the institutes.

15th EML Symposium

The 15th Symposium on Electromag-

netic Acceleration took place in Brus-

sels from 17 to 20 May 2010. Over

130 researchers from all over the

world met to exchange views in this

ground-breaking domain. Over 40 pa-

pers and more than 200 posters were

presented. In addition to its scien-

tific contributions (6 papers and

6 posters), ISL set up an exhibition

booth jointly with DLR.

7

June June AugustEurosatory

During dynamic demonstrations, ISL, in

cooperation with the Technical Section

of the French Army (STAT) presented

the ARCADIS system (Augmented Real-

ity and ChAnge Detection for Itineraries

Security). This computer-aided vision

platform, which detects changes in itin-

erary likely to be due to hidden Impro-

vised Explosive Devices (IEDs), is

mounted on a VBL (light-armoured)

military vehicle. It is the fi rst time a

research institute has participated in an

outdoor dynamic demonstration within

the framework of EUROSATORY.

50th Anniversary of the Laser

On 24 June 2010, KIT (Karlsruhe

Institute of Technology) celebrated

50 years of laser technology at its

Optics and Photonics Conference in

the presence of Professor Dr. Theodor

Hänsch, who was awarded the Nobel

Prize for Physics in 2005 and Profes-

sor Charles H. Townes, the Nobel

Laureate for Physics in 1964.

The celebrations ended with a presenta-

tion and demonstration of how the fi rst

laser worked, carried out by Dr. habil.

Marc Eichhorn, a researcher at ISL.

New French Director

IGA Alain Picq, who has been Director

of ISL for 4 years, lately in conjunction

with MinR Michael Weiand, the Ger-

man Director, left ISL on 31 July

2010. Christian de Villemagne, 48,

took over from him as the new French

Director from 1 August 2010. Chris-

tian de Villemagne’s professional ca-

reer has been varied. He has been

particularly involved in cooperation in

the fi eld of armament. He directed

LRBA (Ballistics and Aerodynamics

Laboratory at Vernon).

September October DecemberVisit from the “Regierungspräsident” Würtenberger

On 3 September 2010 ISL welcomed

the “Regierungspräsident” Julian

Würtenberger for a visit, during which

he had the opportunity of fi nding out

about some of the research issues

addressed at the Institute, such as

nanomaterials, fi ghting against IEDs

and the acoustic protection of sol-

diers.

16th EDA IAP3 CapTech Meeting

More than 20 participants from 8

European nations attended the 16th

Meeting of the EDA IAP3 CapTech

Group on 19 and 20 October 2010.

The IAP3 CapTech is a working group

of the EDA Research & Technology

Directorate. The main objective of

the IAP3 CapTech is to launch col-

laborative R&T projects that address

the needs of the participating mem-

ber states.

New German Director

During the meeting of the Board of

Directors on 9 December 2010,

3 years of accomplishments of MinR

Michael Weiand in his function as Ger-

man Director were celebrated, while

Dir BWB Wolfgang Förster was nomi-

nated to take charge as of January 1st.

Mr Förster, 61, served in several func-

tions in the German MoD, in the Ger-

man Defence Procurement Agency

BWB and in the BTP (Bureau

Trilatéral de Programmes), Paris.

PERFORATION

PROTECTION

DETONICS

In 2010 ISL has consolidated its

position as a major research or-

ganization in Europe in the fi eld

of the protection against improvised

explosive devices (IEDs), both for

overseas military operations and

homeland security.

New cooperation programmes have

been started with German Homeland

security services such as the “Bun-

deskriminalamt”, “Bundespolizei”,

“Hochschule der Polizei”, “Kampf-

mittelräumdienst”, as well as various

“Landespolizei” forces.

ISL also has a key role recognized

within the French interministerial

network coordinated by the “Secré-

tariat Général pour la Défense et la

Sécurité Nationales” (SGDSN) ded-

icated to the protection against ex-

plosive threats. ISL is thereby

associated in different international

bilateral governmental cooperations,

for example in the fi eld of mass

transportation security or protection

of critical infrastructures.

The classical activities in the fi eld

of terminal ballistics concerned

themselves with the experimental

and theoretical studies of the protec-

tion against fragments and IEDs-

EFPs by means of single shots with

powder guns and the two-stage light-

gas gun; furthermore, research on

the effectiveness of ammunition in

urban terrain and the protection per-

formance of fabrics was also con-

ducted in collaboration with the

“École Nationale Supérieure des Arts

et Industries Textiles de Roubaix”.

New applications in the fi eld of dy-

namic material testing were investi-

gated: in contact with the German

federal agency for material research

(BAM) and a partner of the aviation

industry, ballistic experiments con-

cerning the resistance of the casings

of turbochargers and turbojet engines

against fragments of turbine blades

were carried out.

In the fi eld of interior ballistics, an

international workshop on the

9

paints and explosive detection de-

vices. Concerning the explosive de-

tection, important progress was made

towards understanding the capabil-

ity of different oxide systems to

selectively sniff explosives on a mac-

roscopic scale.

Last but not least, a new research

group was created within the Division

this year, and is in charge of the

elaboration and characterization of

non-energetic nanomaterials for de-

fence applications. ISL should be

equipped before the end of the year

with an SPS apparatus. The research

group presents this sintering tech-

nique and its promising applications

in the following paper.

For more information:

Contact: div1@isl.eu

research with industrial partners and

other research institutes. Another

very important activity is the research

on opto-pyrotechnical fuzing systems,

which remains the major source of

contracts with industry for our Divi-

sion, both for space and defence

applications.

The research on energetic nanoma-

terials was led within a joint research

unit with the French national centre

for scientifi c research (CNRS). A ma-

jor effort was made to integrate en-

ergetic nanocomposites like

nanothermites into industrial applica-

tions such as propulsion, charge

activation and delay systems. Explo-

sive nanoparticles were elaborated

in greater quantities by means of an

improved crystallization process. In

the nanocarbonaceous fi eld, our re-

search studies led us to understand

the formation, dispersion and func-

tionalization of nanoparticles. This

was a crucial step towards integrating

the particles into nanotechnology-

based systems like pressure-sensitive

present state and future prospects,

“Maintaining Competences in Inte-

rior Ballistics”, was organized at ISL,

including presentations on ener-

getic materials for propellants,

processing, ignition phenomena,

combustion diagnostics and model-

ling tools. A defence research coop-

eration on the “Synthesis and

Characterization of New Energetic

Materials” will be launched under

the Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) between ISL and the Ministry

of Defence of the Kingdom of Spain.

Experimental studies on different

propellants will be conducted with-

in the scope of a trinational (FR, DE,

SE) Technical Arrangement entitled

“High-Performance Igniters for LOVA

Gun Propellants”.

In the fi eld of detonics and explo-

sives, the research currently con-

ducted at ISL deals with the reduction

in the sensitivity of explosives. The

producing process of the ISL Very-

Insensitive RDX (VI-RDX) was up-

scaled, allowing us to develop joint

ABSTRACT

The powder metallurgy process can be

described as all the techniques allowing

the fabrication of dense and bulk mate-

rials by exposing powdery materials to

an adapted thermal treatment. If a reduc-

tion in the overall cost of manufacturing

is generally expected in this way, other

advantages can be highlighted, such as

the capability of producing net and near-

net shapes directly from powder or the

adjustment of the fi nal properties of the

material since they directly depend on

the thermal treatment parameters.

A recent revolution in this domain was

initiated by research on nanomaterials.

Presently, it is well known that nanos-

tructured materials show better perform-

ances than their counterpart with a

coarse microstructure. Among the nu-

merous potential applications, nanos-

tructured materials are expected to have

a very high potential in military domains

like ammunition and protection.

In this overview, some of the current

research topics of the ECN group at ISL

are presented to give a complete de-

scription of the powder metallurgy proc-

ess. This will give us the opportunity of

introducing the new sintering technique

named Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS)

which is at the moment considered to

be the most effi cient tool for the sinter-

ing of a wide range of materials, as it

maintains their superfi ne structure.

INTRODUCTION

It is well known that bulk materials

with a nanocrystalline structure most-

ly exhibit much higher performances

than those with a microcrystalline

structure. The reason for these special

characteristics is due to the extreme-

ly small dimensions of the grains which

lead to a higher grain boundary den-

sity. For example, these materials can

present an increased strength/hard-

ness, an enhanced diffusivity, an im-

proved ductility/toughness, a raised

density, an increased elastic modulus,

a higher electrical resistivity, etc.

One of the best ways of producing

massive nanostructured materials is

to use the powder metallurgy technique

AN OVERVIEW OF THE POWDER METALLURGY PROCESS APPLIED TO NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIAL MANUFACTURING

11

module, is to manufacture composites

with an addition of reinforcements.

Up to now, these materials have con-

sisted of microparticle-reinforced (SiC,

AlN, etc.) metal composites and have

mostly been made by casting infi ltration

methods. Today, the use of nanodisper-

soids presents more potentialities for

nanocomposites and prevents the ap-

plication of casting methods because

of bad matrix/reinforcement cohesion

and of inhomogeneous dispersion, lead-

ing to material breaking.

In this context, the powder metallurgy

technique appears to be the most

effi cient way of combining the alu-

minium lightweight and ductile char-

acteristics with the high hardness of

nanodiamonds. The characteristics of

these composites for protection per-

formance will be highlighted by me-

chanical characterization and ballistic

tests, while keeping the weight asset

and decreasing manufacturing cost.

B4C FOR BALLISTIC APPLICATIONSB4C is a high refractory compound

(melting point at 2450 °C) which ex-

in the fi eld of powder metallurgy, fo-

cuses on the preparation of nanos-

tructured materials to address the

military domain needs. In the follow-

ing, some of the materials studied in

the ECN group will illustrate the dif-

ferent stages involved in the making

of dense nanostructured materials.

A special attention will be dedicated

to the consolidation stage, especial-

ly the description of the SPS process.

CURRENT THEMES INVESTIGATED IN THE ECN GROUP

Studies on ballistic protection, new

materials for shaped charges or poly-

crystalline ceramic media for laser

applications are being carried out.

ALUMINIUM FOR LIGHTWEIGHT ARMOURSMaterials used for ballistic protection

applications, especially in lightweight

armours, have to combine high mechan-

ical strength with good ductility and light

weight. In this way, the solution to make

a material like aluminium stronger, while

keeping its low density and its high E-

which can be divided into two distinc-

tive stages:

• the powder synthesis and/or powder

preparation have been widely studied

and the production of nanostructured

powders is quite well controlled;

• the powder consolidation is unfortu-

nately associated with a dramatic grain

growth, and thus a decrease in the

grain boundary density is observed.

The control of this phenomenon in-

volves a real challenge, i.e. the con-

solidation of pieces of material close

to the theoretical density, maintaining

the initial nanocrystalline structure.

Solving this diffi culty has been the

focus of many studies over the last

years, leading to major improvements

in developing new sintering processes.

Among them, a non-conventional pres-

sure sintering method called SPS –

Spark Plasma Sintering – is becoming

increasingly important in the process-

ing of numerous materials thanks to

its original characteristics.

Among the research topics developed

at ISL, the ECN group, specialized

ballistic properties are intimately re-

lated to density.

NANOSTRUCTURED MO FOR SHAPED CHARGESThe objective of this current ECN work

is to demonstrate the possibility of

producing shaped-charge liners by

powder metallurgy and to improve their

terminal ballistic performance, by in-

creasing strength and retaining ductil-

ity at the same time. In this way,

nanostructured molybdenum liners will

be made by combining the nanostruc-

turation of the powder by high-energy

ball milling with consolidation by SPS.

The mechanical properties of the

specimens will be compared to those

of conventional materials and the po-

tential gain due to nanostructuration

will be evaluated. The fi nal objective

is to integrate these liners into warhead

demonstrators for full-scale fi ring tests.

YAG FOR SOLID-STATE LASER APPLICATIONSSolid-state heat capacity lasers are in-

teresting in the military security domain

as well as in civilian applications. Cur-

rent researches focus on eye-safe lasers

(wavelength emission  > 1.4 m) in

hibits a signifi cantly high hardness, a

high mechanical strength, a low den-

sity and other interesting properties like

chemical resistance. The combination

of these properties makes this material

a good candidate for ballistic applica-

tions, especially in the fi eld of light-

weight armours for soldiers or vehicles.

Even if the potential applications are

diversifi ed, the use of this material is

still limited, due to a very high manu-

facturing cost and the restriction of the

dimensions of the fi nal dense pieces.

Moreover, B4C is a covalent material and

consequently, is considered very hard

to consolidate due to its low diffusivity.

Without sintering aids, this material can

be densifi ed by hot pressing at a tem-

perature close to 2100 °C and at pres-

sures ranging from 30 to 40 MPa.

The objective is to identify the infl u-

ence of ceramic nanostructuration on

the ballistic performance. The poten-

tial gain of these nanomaterials will

be evaluated by means of ballistic

tests. The achievement of fully dense

materials is a requirement for such a

kind of application, as mechanical and

Fig. 1 – X-ray patterns of Al milled during 0 to 1200 min

Position [°2Theta]30 40 50 60 70

milled 1200 min milled 600 min milled 180 min milled 15 min raw Al

44 44.50 45 45.50

13

of producing nanostructured powder.

The principle of this technique is based

on the repetition of the impact of balls

on powders, which causes signifi cant

defects like dislocations, vacancies,

strains, etc. Depending on the nature

of the milled materials (ductile or frag-

ile), the main effects are the fracture of

particles, the refi nement of crystallites

and the powder energetic activation.

Commercial Al powder with an average

particle size of 45 m was milled in

a planetary ball mill during 15 to

1200 min.

The evolution of the cristallinity and of

the morphology was followed as a func-

tion of the milling time by X-ray diffrac-

tion (fi g. 1). On the X-ray diagrams, the

increase in the background noise and

the decrease in peak intensities as a

function of the milling time are due to

the amorphization of the crystalline struc-

ture and to the refi nement of the crystal-

lite size, combined with the introduction

of a higher amount of microstrains.

The evolution of the crystallite sizes

determined by Scherrer’s and William-

order to reduce safety restrictions and

to enlarge the fi elds of application.

YAG (Yttrium Aluminium Garnet), with

the chemical composition Y3Al5O12,

is usually used as a transparent solid

medium as it allows a better heat dis-

tribution and consequently, a longer

operating time and a higher output

power. In particular, the erbium-doped

YAG compound is of interest, as its

eye-safe emission is larger than the

required 1.4 m (Er :YAG = 1.645 m).

Up to now, transparent single crystals

such as YAG have been used. But pow-

der metallurgy offers more possibilities,

such as the making of larger fi nal piec-

es or doping profi le engineering. Me-

dium transparency requires a density

superior to 99.90 % of the theoretical

one and therefore, necessitates subtly

adapted sintering conditions.

NANOSCALE POWDER SYNTHESIS

The high-energy ball milling process is

a convenient method of refi ning and/or

son-Hall’s analytical methods applied

to X-ray patterns is similar for both

methods and can be divided into two

parts. After a sharp decrease in the

crystallite sizes from 350 to 80 nm

for milling times up to 180 min, a

stabilization at a value close to 50 nm

is observed for periods longer than

600 min.

In addition to this, SEM (Scanning

Electron Microscope) images reveal

that the milling process changes the

morphology of the aluminium powders

by introducing mechanical stresses

and fracture/soldering phenomena

(fi g. 2 and fi g. 3).

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

analyses carried out on the aluminium

powders show that milling has no effect

on the melting point of aluminium;

indeed, only one endothermic peak

situated between 656.5  °C and

655.8 °C is observed (fi g. 4). If milling

does not obviously infl uence the melt-

ing point of aluminium, it remains true

that it has a direct impact on the heat

exchanges. In the temperature range

between 200 °C and 600 °C, the longer

Fig. 3 – SEM micrograph of Al powder milled for 180 minFig. 2 – SEM micrograph of raw Al powder

from both outside and inside. If the

powder compound is an electrical in-

sulator, its heating will be carried out

through the Joule effect of the graph-

ite die. Conversely, the current will pass

through an electrically conducting ma-

terial as well as through the die and a

Joule effect will occur in both of them.

Figure 5 shows the basic confi guration

of a typical SPS system.

This original working mode endows the

SPS technology with a wide range of

potential uses. Moreover, as explained

in the following section, SPS is based

on an original sintering phenomenon

which results in the achievement of

original microstructures.

Mechanism

As previously explained, the SPS proc-

ess is a pressure-assisted pulsed-current

sintering process utilizing on-off DC

pulsed energizing. The repeated ap-

plication of an on-off DC pulsed voltage

and current between the grains of the

materials is believed to create spark

discharge points. These sparks result

in Joule heating points (high local tem-

perature state) capable of momentarily

the milling, the lower the temperature

at which these thermal events start.

This observation is very consistent with

the expected increase in the energetic

activation of the powders by milling.

DENSIFICATION BY SPS

INTRODUCTION TO SPSPrinciple From a technical point of view, the SPS

process is based on a modifi ed hot-

pressing method and the setup is con-

sequently composed of a vertical

single-axis pressurization unit, punch

electrodes, a DC pulsed power genera-

tor, as well as atmosphere, temperature

and pressure control units. As in con-

ventional methods, during sintering a

uniaxial pressure is exerted on a die

fi lled with precursor powders. How-

ever, in this technology, an electric

current passes directly through the

pressing mould containing the compo-

nent. This implies that the die acts as

a heating source and that the sample,

depending on its electrical character-

istics, is heated either from outside or

Fig. 4 – DSC curves of aluminium powders as a function of the milling time

4.5

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

-0.5

-1.50 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Temperature [°C]

Ent

halp

y [m

W/m

g]exo

0 min15 min180 min600 min1200 min

Fig. 5 – SPS system confi guration

Upperpunch electrode

P

P

Vacu

um &

wat

er c

oolin

g ch

ambe

r

Powder

Positioning

SPS sintering press

SPS

cont

rolle

r

SPS

sint

erin

g D

Cpu

lse

gene

rato

r

Operating environment(vacuum, air & argon gas)

ThermometerWater cooling

Upperpunch

Lowerpunch

Sintering die

Lowerpunch electrode

15

reaching thousands of degrees Celsius.

This causes vaporization and punctual

local melting on the surface of the pow-

der particles; constricted shapes or

“necks” are formed around the contact

areas between the particles. These

necks gradually develop and the plastic

transformation progresses during sinter-

ing, leading to the production of a com-

pact of a density value close to 100%.

Figure 6 shows how the on-off DC

pulsed current is distributed among

the grains during the SPS process and

fi gure 7 illustrates the material trans-

fer mechanisms of vaporization, so-

lidifi cation, volume diffusion, surface

diffusion and grain boundary diffusion

during the neck formation.

Benefi tsAlthough it was claimed by the inven-

tor of the process, M. Tokita (SPS

Syntex), the existence of sparks and

plasmas has not been confi rmed by

experiments yet. Whatever the theory,

this process has demonstrated through

lots of recent works that it is able to

sinter a wide range of materials includ-

ing ceramics, metals, semi-metals,

polymers, etc., with densities close to

the theoretical ones.

If versatility, in terms of sinterable

materials, is an important character-

istic of this instrument, other benefi ts

can be introduced:

Time, temperature and cost

By applying a pulsed electric current,

sintering can be performed with a low

power consumption. This feature allows

very fast heating times and short proc-

ess cycles and thus a reduction in the

granular growth. This also limits the

duration of the equilibrium state, lead-

ing to the creation of materials (or com-

posite materials) with remarkable

compositions and properties.

While one of the major advantages of

this technology is the reduction in the

sintering time, another is the decrease

in the sintering temperatures which

are 200 °C to 500 °C lower than those

achieved by conventional sintering

processes.

These two parameters, time and tem-

perature, are crucial at the sintering

stage and their reduction directly in-

duces a grain growth limitation. The

production of dense bulks with an

ultrafi ne structure is thus possible.

Besides, time and temperature reduc-

tions imply a cut in the overall cost of

the sintering stage.

Other benefi ts

• Pulses are considered to have an

effect on surface powders, as they

break the natural oxide layer of

metals (and semi-metals).

• “Near-net shape” pieces can be ob-

tained, allowing a decrease in the

material and machining cost.

• Sintering aids are no longer neces-

sary in most cases, leading to ma-

terials with higher purity.

• Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs)

and multilayer compounds can be

manufactured.

• Original microstructures can be ob-

tained.

SINTERING OF MOLYBDENUMDilatometry

Dilatometric analyses of compacted

Mo powder heated up to 1900 °C were

Fig. 6 – Pulsed current passing through powder particles

Fig. 7 – Material transfer path during sintering

Electriccurrent

Particle

Discharge

Joule effect

Insi

de w

all o

f the

gra

phite

die

Particle (A) Particle (B)

13 3

13 3

2

3

4

1

2 24 4

Vaporization & solidificationVolume diffusionSurface diffusionGrain boundary diffusion

performed to study the effects of high-

energy ball milling on sintering phe-

nomena. Dilatometric curves (fi g. 8)

obtained from compacted specimens

of unmilled powder and of powder

milled for 30 min exhibit the same

behaviour which can be broken up into

two steps: from room temperature up

to about 500 °C the specimen length

is constant, which indicates that no

thermal expansion or sintering phe-

nomenon has occurred. Beyond this

temperature, after a low thermal ex-

pansion, a drastic specimen size re-

duction follows, corresponding to

sintering phenomena.

If the evolution of the dilatometric

curves of unmilled and milled powders

is similar, milled molybdenum is char-

acterized by a higher shrinkage rate

and a lower sintering temperature.

These differences highlight the impor-

tance of the energetic activation of the

powder by ball milling.

SPS sintering

Milled molybdenum powder was sin-

tered by Spark Plasma Sintering. In

addition to the powder densifi cation,

dilatometric graphs can be obtained

with this process, enabling us to follow

and interpret the reactive phenomena

during sintering. Figure 9 gives an ex-

ample of a dilatometric graph showing

the displacement of the piston linked

to the speed of consolidation of the

material (shrinkage) as a function of

the temperature.

Based on these curves, a consolidation

profi le was developed and ideal sintering

conditions were identifi ed (temperature,

pressure, etc.). Both infl ection points on

the shrinkage curve indicate that sinter-

ing starts at about 700 °C and ends

around 1400 °C. The highest shrinkage

rate is observed at 1100 °C. Beyond

1400 °C no piston displacement is meas-

ured, which means that the specimen

density is close to the theoretical one.

From the comparison of the curves

obtained by dilatometry and by SPS,

it appears that for both sets of curves,

sintering starts at the same tempera-

ture. However, on the dilatometric

curves the sintering phenomenon ends

beyond 1900 °C, whereas for SPS it

ends at 1400 °C. The highest shrinkage

Fig. 8 – Shrinkage rate versus sintering temperature as a function of the milling time for Mo

Fig. 9 – Displacement and speed of the piston during the SPS experiment

-0.24

-0.20

-0.16

-0.12

-0.08

-0.04

0.00

0.04

0 500 1000 1500 2000

DL/

L

Temperature [°C]

Mo milled powderMo unmilled powder

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

300 500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700

Shr

inka

ge ra

te [m

m/m

n]

Pis

ton

disp

lace

men

t [m

m]

Temperature [°C]

Piston displacement (mm)Shrinkage rate (mm/mn)

17

rate in SPS is due to the high pressure

exerted during the treatment and to

the spark plasma effect which are both

part of the process. This comparison

highlights the decrease in the overall

process time which is accompanied by

a reduction in its cost. An improvement

in the fi nal properties of the materials,

notably in terms of hardness, was ob-

served, but is not presented here.

The density measurements by hydro-

static weighing (Archimedes’ Principle)

result in a fi nal relative density of

98.5 %. In order to optimize the pow-

der consolidation conditions, it would

be interesting to perform a sintering

cycle by varying the holding time of

the optimum sintering temperature

(1100 °C in this case).

MECHANICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATIONS

One of the main objectives in develop-

ing advanced nanostructured materials

in the ECN group is to improve the

mechanical properties of materials by

refi ning their grain structure down to

the nanometric scale and /or by adding

nanoparticles or nanofi bers as rein-

forcements.

In this way, aluminium reinforced with

nanodiamonds was prepared by high-

energy ball milling and consolidated at

temperatures T1 and T2 (T1 < T2). For

this purpose, the nanodiamonds were

synthesized by detonation of an explo-

sive agent at ISL by the NS3E and PCN

groups (D. Spitzer and V. Pichot).

The hardness values of these nano-

composites versus the milling time

and the nanodiamond percentage are

presented in fi gures 10 and 11. As

expected, whatever the sintering tem-

perature, hardness is directly associ-

ated with the quantity of added

nanodiamonds. The increase in hard-

ness as a function of the milling time

is due to the grain size refi nement and

to strain-hardening phenomena. But

the most noticeable effect is the infl u-

ence of the sintering temperature.

The heat treatment carried out at T2

allows hardness to be increased by a

factor of 2.5, compared with a treat-

ment at T1. This improvement is due

to the formation of an amorphous sec-

ondary phase.

In parallel with hardness measure-

ments, compression tests were carried

out on specimens treated at T2

(fi g. 12). After an increase in strength

due to the milling time and observed

up to 180 min, a stable state was

reached. This behaviour is the same

as the one observed for the evolution

of the particle sizes as a function of

the milling time. This observation is

all the more noticeable as the nano-

diamond percentage in the aluminium

sample is important. The presence of

nanodiamonds in aluminium results

in the increase in the plastic deforma-

tion of the materials between 2 % and

5 %, as shown in fi gure 12.

Aluminium milled for 600 min and

reinforced with 5 % nanodiamonds

after heat treatment at T2 exhibits the

highest strength of the series with a

value about fi ve times higher than the

one measured for specimens obtained

from raw and unmilled aluminium

Fig. 10 – Evolution of hardness versus milling time for sam-ples sintered at T1

Fig. 11 – Evolution of hardness versus milling time for samples sintered at T2

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 15 180 600

Har

dnes

s [H

V 0,

025]

Milling time [min]

0% at ND

5% at ND

15% at ND

30% at ND

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 15 180 600

Har

dnes

s [H

V 0,

025]

Milling time [min]

0 at ND

5 at ND

15 at ND

30 at ND

powders. Besides, Young’s modulus is

twice as high as the one determined

from the untreated material and is 1.5

times higher when aluminium is rein-

forced with nanodiamonds.

OUTLOOK

Advanced research in the fi eld of ma-

terials produced by powder metallurgy

at ISL is motivated by the improvement

in the performance of the systems and

by the decrease in the manufacturing

cost. In this paper, our aim was to

highlight that such an improvement

in cost or properties required a total

control of all the process steps. Indeed,

three points were emphasized: the

infl uence of the milling time on the

average particle size in the case of the

aluminium powder, the infl uence of

the microstructure of the molybdenum

powder on the sintering behaviour and

the infl uence of milling on mechanical

properties like strength. These param-

eters are only a tiny part of all the

parameters to be considered at each

stage of the powder metallurgy process

and thus it demonstrates the strong

potential for an accurate and suitable

control of the fi nal properties as well

as the amount of work which is in-

volved.

This overview was also the opportu-

nity to introduce the SPS process since

ISL is going to equip itself with an SPS

facility. As explained, this process is

considered today to be the best way

of densifying powders while maintain-

ing their fi ne structure. Indeed, among

the ECN objectives, and in compliance

with the research topics of ISL, the

SPS facility will offer the capability of

running a project from the basic stud-

ies of the powders up to the manufac-

turing of fi nal bulk pieces, which could

be used as ballistic arrows, ammuni-

tion and so on.

For more information:

Contact: div1@isl.eu

Fig. 12 – Stress-strain curves of nanostructured Al reinforced with nanodiamonds as a function of the milling time and nano-diamond percentage

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 10 20 30 40 50

Stre

ss [M

Pa]

Strain [%]

Al:0% ND, 0 min

Al: 5% ND, 180 minAl: 0% ND, 180 min

Al:0% ND, 600 min

Al: 5% ND, 600 min

AERODYNAMICS FLIGHT MECHANICS MUNITRONICS

MISSION AND ORGANIZATION

The division gives priority to the

studies of precision-guided gun-

launched ammunition for

ground-to-ground (enhanced preci-

sion for existing ammunition, new

concepts for improved range and

precision, terminally guided ammu-

nition for metric precision, etc.) or

ground-to-air (airborne threats includ-

ing mortars, rockets and ballistic

projectiles) applications. Due to the

specifi city of its facilities and skills,

the division is also involved in re-

search on missiles, gun-launched

MAVs and even space applications.

Skills, test facilities (wind tunnel,

shock tube and instrumented fl ight

tests) and simulation tools make it

possible to cover the following needs:

• studying and evaluating guided

ammunition concepts and specify-

ing the requirements in terms of

performance for navigation and

guidance components and for con-

trol devices;

• studying and evaluating low-cost

navigation units containing COTS

sensors as well as guidance and

control solutions adapted to the

various applications;

• studying and evaluating aerody-

namic architectures and control

devices;

• numerical and experimental studies

of the heat transfer and of the fl ows

around projectiles and missiles.

ORGANIZATION

The skills and facilities of the divi-

sion are divided into the following

basic complementary domains:

• the telemetry and sensor integra-

tion domain where telemetry sys-

tems, fl ight recorders and sensors

are designed, integrated and gun-

hardened;

• the exterior ballistics domain

where we study the behaviour and

determine the aerodynamic coef-

fi cients of a wide range of free-

fl ight models;

• the aerodynamics domain where

aerodynamic architectures of fl ying

vehicles and control device con-

cepts are designed and evaluated;

21

The aerothermodynamics of missiles

and re-entry vehicles at high Mach

numbers and altitudes as well as the

steering by lateral jets and other con-

trol devices such as plasma discharge

and microjets also represent topics

of interest for the French and German

authorities and industries. In this

fi eld, four points must be particu-

larly emphasized:

• the measurement of the heat trans-

fer and surface pressure of ge-

neric re-entry vehicles up to Mach

14 and at fl ight altitudes reaching

70 km,

• the cooperation with ONERA, DLR,

FOI, MBDA/FR and GE within the

framework of the GARTEUR Action

Group “Lateral jet interaction at

supersonic speed” chaired by ISL,

• the determination in the wind tun-

nel of the moment produced by a

plasma discharge device,

• very promising results obtained

with a new painting technology

sensitive to pressure.

For more information:

Contact: div2@isl.eu

ISL also seeks various solutions for

the initialization of such navigation

units to meet the requirements re-

garding precision.

Furthermore, research activities are

being conducted on transceivers and

telemetry antennas for a bidirec-

tional communication with a projec-

tile in order to transmit control or

target data and to optimize transmis-

sion and discretion.

Additionally, the ISL project of the

“Gun Launched Micro Air Vehicle”

(GLMAV) concept has now been co-

fi nanced since the beginning of 2010

by an ANR (Agence Nationale de la

Recherche) three-year contract.

The goal of the NATO Standard Agree-

ment 4618 is to defi ne a six- and

seven-degrees-of-freedom trajectory

model for guided projectiles. ISL was

designated by NATO as the technical

leader of the STANAG 4618 Working

Group and is in charge of the devel-

opment of the computer programme

that will be used as a reference code

by the NATO countries.

• the guidance, navigation and control

domain where low-cost navigation

units as well as innovative guidance

and control solutions are studied.

MAIN ACTIVITIES IN 2010

In the fi eld of precision-guided gun-

launched ammunition for ground-to-

ground or ground-to-air applications,

there is a great demand both from

the French and German authorities

for ISL’s expertise work and studies

in cooperation with industry.

Generic tools for the simulation of

guidance and control solutions have

been developed to meet these re-

quirements and to conduct studies

of innovative concepts.

The use of magnetometers is prom-

ising for seeking solutions for the

development of low-cost navigation

units adapted to the various applica-

tions. But the distortions of measure-

ments have to be completely

overcome to obtain accurate results.

INTRODUCTION

The determination of the density dis-

tribution is very important for the in-

vestigation of compressible fl ows. For

this purpose, the schlieren method,

introduced by A. Toepler in 1864, is

currently used. It transforms the phase

variation of the light passing through

a phase object into an intensity vari-

ation. In the seventies and eighties

new techniques such as density speck-

le photography appeared, in which the

defl ection of the light could be meas-

ured directly. Later an improved version

of density speckle photography was

used for this purpose.

In order to measure the light defl ection

caused by density gradients in a com-

pressible fl ow, the Background Orient-

ed Schlieren (BOS) technique uses the

distortion of a background image. Tiny,

randomly distributed dots on a fl at plate

are used as a background. The record-

ing has to be performed as follows: fi rst,

a reference image is generated by re-

cording the background pattern ob-

served through the air at rest before or

after the experiment. Secondly, an ad-

ditional image is taken through the fl ow

under investigation. Local changes in

the refraction index of the moving com-

pressible test medium lead to an opti-

cally displaced image of the background

pattern. The resulting images of both

exposures can then be evaluated by

correlation methods, revealing the local

displacements and thus the deviations

of the light rays. In order to improve the

accuracy and spatial resolution of the

BOS technique, ISL has developed a

special background pattern of coloured

dots (CBOS technique) and suitable

correlation algorithms as well as post-

treatment methods.

Furthermore, the observed displace-

ments are the sum of all the defl ections

along the whole light path. Therefore,

Application of the Coloured Background Oriented Schlieren Tech-nique to the Reconstruction of the Density Field

23

density gradients /x and /y in

the horizontal and vertical directions,

respectively.

COLOUR DISTRIBUTION IN THE BACKGROUND IMAGE The Background Oriented Schlieren

(BOS) technique uses a computer-gen-

erated random dot pattern which is

placed in the background of the test

volume. This pattern has to possess a

high spatial frequency that can be im-

aged with a high contrast. It usually

consists of tiny, randomly distributed

dots. Earlier studies pointed out that

the dot pattern should cover from 30 %

to 70 % of the surface of the background

image for an optimized evaluation.

Instead of using a black and white back-

ground, a coloured one has been devel-

oped. As the primary colours red, green

and blue (according to the RGB colour

model) can easily be detected by com-

mercial digital CMOS cameras, they are

cal medium (eq. 1); stands for the

density of the medium, G denotes the

Gladstone-Dale constant which de-

pends on the characteristics of the

gas and represents the wavelength

of the light. As the changes in the

Gladstone-Dale constant in the visible

spectral range are very small, the

constant is set at the value

G() = 2.26 10-4m3/kg for an aver-

age wavelength of ≈ 550 nm.

The distortion can be expressed by

integrating the local index gradients

along the light path (eq. 2); z repre-

sents the coordinate along the light

path, f the focal length of the camera

lens, ZC the distance from the camera

to the phase object and ZB the distance

from the phase object to the back-

ground image, as shown in

fi gure 1. Furthermore, the Gladstone-

Dale relation allows conclusions to be

drawn from the two-dimensional distor-

tion (x,y) in order to determine the

ISL is working on tomography recon-

struction methods in order to deter-

mine the local value of the density in

symmetrical and completely three-

dimensional compressible fl ows.

COLOURED BACK-GROUND ORIENTED SCHLIEREN TECHNIQUE (CBOS)

PRINCIPLE OF THE BOS TECHNIQUEThe principle of the BOS technique

is based on the measurement of the

deviation of the light passing through

a phase object. Indeed, the BOS tech-

nique uses the distortion of a back-

ground image for detecting the

changes in density gradients. Due to

the empirical Gladstone-Dale law, the

density can directly be related to the

refractive index n, which is defi ned as

the ratio of the speed of light in vac-

uum to the speed of light in the opti-

0

1,,

B

C B z

fZ nx y dzZ Z f n r x y

(2)

with (1)1n const G

23 8 74 6.7132 10 1.0686 10( ) 2.2244 10 1m m mG

kg

Fig. 1 – Optical set-up for the BOS technique

lensunstructuredbackground

ZB ZC f

phase object image plane

• one pattern for each of the primary

colours (red, green and blue),

• one pattern for all secondary colours,

• 3 patterns of dots containing R, G

and B, respectively, and

• one pattern for the uncoloured

areas, the so-called “black dots”.

The assessment of the image distortion

is achieved by treating each of the

8 elementary patterns separately by

means of the cross-correlation method

already applied in the Particle Image

Velocimetry (PIV) technique. In order

to increase the precision of the com-

mon BOS technique, gliding interroga-

tion windows are used. In this way,

every interrogation window is shifted

by one eighth of its length in the hor-

izontal as well as in the vertical direc-

tions (fi g. 5). Finally, an average value

for each location is determined by the

value obtained at the location itself

and by the results from interpolations

between the opposite neighbouring

values (fi g. 6). In order to increase the

accuracy of the measurement, the val-

ues used for the averaging must sat-

isfy a standard deviation criterion.

used to generate the coloured back-

ground for the CBOS technique. The

background pattern is assembled as fol-

lows: the same proportion of each pri-

mary colour is distributed randomly over

the background image. This leads to a

specifi c distribution of pure and com-

pound colours (fi g. 2). It can be observed

that a fi lling rate of 35 % for each pri-

mary colour leads to a maximum distri-

bution of the pure colours. Furthermore,

the distribution of the compound colours

and of the uncoloured areas is close to

30 %. A typical coloured background

image is shown in fi gure 3, with a fi lling

rate of 35 % for each primary colour.

IMAGE PROCESSINGIn order to improve the analysis of the

recorded images, the post-processing

takes into account the fact that digital

CMOS cameras have sensors for the

primary colours red, green and blue. The

data from the sensors are stored di-

rectly without any treatment or compres-

sion, by using a special raw format. Due

to the decomposition into the three pri-

mary colours, 8 elementary dot patterns

can be extracted from the image (fi g. 4):

Fig. 2 – Distribution of the compound colours as a function of the primary colour fi lling rate

Fig. 4 – Extraction of the 8 elementary dot patterns from the coloured background image

Fig. 3 – Coloured back-ground image

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

percentage of the primary colours [%]

fillin

g ra

te o

f the

bac

kgro

und

imag

e [%

]

at least 2 coloursno colours1 pure colour

Dots containingred

Dots containinggreen

Dots containingblue

Pure red dots Pure green dots Pure blue dots

Secondarycolours

CBOS imageBlack“dots”

25

CORRELATION ALGORITHM: DETERMINATION OF THE DISPLACEMENT VECTORSFor the determination of the displace-

ment vectors between the patterns of

two interrogation windows, the cross-

correlation method already applied in

the PIV technique is used. As the cho-

sen correlation technique is based on

the Fast Fourier Transformations

(FFTs), which assume the periodicity

of the data samples, a correction for

non-periodic data samples has to be

made in order to avoid artefacts. There-

fore, two correction approaches are

proposed (eq. 3 and eq. 4).

In order to estimate the displacement

vector, the position of the maximum

value in the correlation result is

searched for. Therefore, only integer

displacements between the two cor-

related interrogation windows can be

assessed. In order to improve the ac-

curacy of the displacements, the

neighbouring points are taken into ac-

count. Therefore, three different ap-

proaches to determining the core peaks

are applied to linear, parabolic and

Gaussian fi t estimators, respectively.

EXPERIMENTATION

FREE-FLIGHT TESTSThe fi rst test is based on the recording

of the fl ow around a model similar to

a re-entry space vehicle with a diam-

eter D = 80 mm and a length L =

44.1  mm (fig.  7a). The model is

launched with a classical smooth-bore

powder gun (caliber = 90 mm). The

measurements are carried out at a

downstream distance of 15 m from the

gun muzzle. At this position the veloc-

ity of the model is 555 m/s, which

corresponds to a Mach number of 1.63.

Due to this low Mach number, the bow

shock is particularly detached from

the body (fi g. 7b–d). The shedding

vortices from the base of the probe

can be seen in the representation of

the vertical displacement (fi g. 7d),

while the wake structures become

clearly visible in the norm (fi g. 7b).

The linear weight kernel is applied to the result of the cross-

correlation.

The gaussian weight kernel is applied directly to the gray values

of one of the two interrogation windows.

Fig. 5 – Gliding interrogation windows

Fig. 6 – Neighbouring points taken into account for the averaging (numbers 1 to 8 indicate the differ-ent dot patterns)

1 1, 1 1i ji jM N

(3)

2 2

2 22 2, exp 4

2 2

M Ni ji j

M N(4)

interrogation window

inte

rroga

tion

win

dow

level 0 level 1 level 2

Fig. 7 – Model of a re-entry space vehicle and visualization of the fl ow fi eld around the free-fl ying probe at M = 1.63a) re-entry space vehicle; b) absolute values of the displacements; c) horizontal displacements; d) vertical displacements

3000

2000

1000

0

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000x [Pixel]

y [P

ixel

]

displ_x [Pixel]11.0010.059.108.157.206.255.304.353.402.451.500.55

-0.40-1.35-2.30-3.25-4.20-5.15-6.10-7.05-8.00

c)

3000

2000

1000

0

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000x [Pixel]

y [P

ixel

]

displ_y [Pixel]6.005.404.804.203.603.002.401.801.200.600.000.55

-0.60-1.20-1.80-2.40-3.00-3.60-4.20-4.80-5.40-6.00

d)

a)

3000

2000

1000

0

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000x [Pixel]

y [P

ixel

]

norm [Pixel]12.0011.4010.8010.209.609.008.407.807.206.606.005.404.804.203.603.002.401.801.200.600.00

b)

In this case, one main advantage of

the CBOS method becomes obvious.

As illustrated in fi gure 7b-d, this tech-

nique records the horizontal and verti-

cal displacements caused by the phase

object in a single exposure. Addition-

ally, it is possible to visualize the norm

of the displacements.

If the fl ow can be considered axisym-

metric in good approximation, recon-

struction algorithms based on the Abel

or the Radon transformation are used.

WIND-TUNNEL TESTSFor these tests the model used is a

spike-tipped body equipped with a

biconical tip (fi g. 8). The experiment

is carried out in the 0.2 m  0.2 m

supersonic blow-down wind tunnel S20

at ISL with a freestream Mach number

of 3 and a temperature at rest

T0 = 293 K. The Reynolds number

ReD based on the model diameter

(D = 40 mm) is 2.7  106 and the

tunnel freestream static pressure p

amounts to 190 hPa. The angle of

attack of the model is 6 degrees.

In order to measure projections in dif-

ferent directions, the support of the

body can be rotated every 5 degrees

around the wind-tunnel axis. Obvi-

ously, the centre of rotation remains

at the same location. Taking into ac-

count the symmetry, pictures taken

from angles ranging between 0° and

90° are suffi cient for a reconstruction

of the flow field. Hence the total

number of projections amounts to

19 recordings. The experimental set-up

is shown on fi gures 9 and 10.

In the case of asymmetric fl ows with

incomplete projections, such as the

fl ow around a body with incidence, the

reconstruction technique has to deal

with the problem of the limited number

of projections and also with that of the

discontinuities in the projections, pos-

sibly hidden by the body. Therefore, a

fi ltered back-projection algorithm is

used. Nevertheless, it is important to

correct the main numerical artefacts

encountered.

For the fl ow around the spike-tipped

body (fi g. 11), a good reconstruction

of the recirculation zone and of the

upper shock is obtained (fi g. 12). How-

ever, at the tip and in the strong com-

pression shock area in the lower part

Fig. 8 – Spike- tipped body

measuring chamber

spike tip

camera

Fig. 9 – Set-up of the test

axis of rotation

= 6°Ma = 3.0

Fig. 10 – Spike-tipped body

27

of the image, the value of the density

is underestimated. This is related to

the astigmatism problems facing all

the (C)BOS techniques when very

strong density gradients are involved.

In such regions, the deviations are

underestimated, or indeed not meas-

ured at all, so that the reconstruction

is strongly distorted.

CONCLUSIONS

The Background Oriented Schlieren

technique is a suitable tool for the

three-dimensional analysis of a fl ow

with density gradients. In comparison

with the schlieren method, differential

interferometry, etc., the BOS technique

is acknowledged for its simple optical

set-up and easy handling. In the case

of the CBOS technique and due to the

coloured background, eight different

dot patterns can be recorded simulta-

neously with one camera. The use of

gliding interrogation windows as well

as the post-treatment performed by

applying weight kernels to the correla-

tion algorithm and by using special fi t

estimators allow the spatial resolution

to be increased and the accuracy of

the method to be improved. Further-

more, very large fl ow fi elds can be ob-

served and even a landscape might be

used as a background for this method.

Moreover, the accuracy and the spatial

resolution of the CBOS technique allow

a reliable reconstruction of the den-

sity fi eld in complete steady three-

dimensional fl ows to be obtained, as

shown in wind-tunnel tests or around

free-fl ight bodies.

For more information:

Contact: div2@isl.eu

3000

4000

5000

2000

1000

0

0 1000 2000 3000x [Pixel]

y [P

ixel

]

norm [Pixel]15.0014.2513.5012.7512.0011.2510.50

9.759.008.257.506.756.005.254.503.753.002.251.500.750.00

-0.05 00.05 0 0.02 0.080.060.04

-0.06

-0.04

-0.02

0.02

0.04

0.06

0

z [m]x [m]

y [m

]

0 0.02 0.080.060.04x [m]

0

0.04

0.02

-0.02

-0.04

z [m

]

y [m

]

0

-0.04

-0.02

0.02

0.04

/ _02.4

2.2

2.0

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

Fig. 11 – Visualization of the fl ow fi eld around the spike-tipped wind-tunnel model with an angle of attack of 6° at the point of view of 0°; absolute values of the displacement

Fig. 12 – Reconstruction from CBOS measurements of the density fi eld in the fl ow around a spike-tipped body (Mach number = 3, AoA = 6°, 19 projections)

OPTRONICS

LASER

SENSORS

In 2010 the worsening situation of

the German and French troops in

Afghanistan has triggered the in-

tensifi cation of research applied to

the protection of soldiers. Serious

threats are improvised explosive de-

vices (IEDs) and mortar shells or mis-

siles. ISL and its industrial partners

have developed protective measures

against these menaces.

As a premiere for a research institute

ISL exhibited some of its results in

the dynamic presentations of the

EUROSATORY fair in Paris. In coop-

eration with the technical section of

the French Army (STAT) a light ar-

moured vehicle of the Panhard VBL

type was equipped with a system

which can detect hidden improvised

explosive devices (IEDs). The im-

ages with the information about the

road conditions and, if necessary,

the IED involved, were transmitted

in real time via a wireless network

to the headquarters. From this place

the visitors could observe the road

under the same conditions as the

crew in the VBL. This presentation

aroused great interest among the

audience. In the meantime ISL has

been preparing an offer with a view

to forming a partnership with an in-

dustrial company to put this change

detection system on the market.

Within the framework of the EDA call

“Force Protection II”, ISL is part of

a consortium studying the use of

high-energy lasers for camp protec-

tion (Air Defence High Energy Laser

Weapon system, ADHELW). ISL´s

contribution to this project consist-

ed of developing a complex simula-

tion model taking into account the

rotation of and the airfl ow around

the missile. The code was validated

by evaluating the experiments with

real targets. Thanks to this achieve-

ment, Europe possesses the fi rst

validated model for the dimensioning

of a laser effector against a missile

threat.

Not only in the high-energy domain

has ISL made great progress. For

optronic countermeasures the laser

development group studied different

methods of converting IR radiation

from 2 m into band II (3–5 m).

29

ly interested in such systems. This

year we have started to develop an

underwater system which could be

useful for the discovery of mines or

for the surveillance of harbour infra-

structures. First tests are being con-

ducted in the Baltic Sea and in the

Mediterranean Sea. The results will

be published in the course of next

year.

In June 2010, on the occasion of

the 50th Anniversary of the Laser,

the Karlsruhe Institute of Technol-

ogy (KIT) organized a ceremony at

which an ISL scientist was invited,

together with two Nobel laureates,

Prof. Dr. Charles H. Townes and Prof.

Dr. Theodor Hänsch, to give a talk

on lasers. This invitation was a con-

secration for the ISL excellence in

the domain of lasers.

For more information:

Contact: div3@isl.eu

In 2010 they reached a 5-W medium

power with a gallium arsenide optical

parametric oscillator (GaAs-OPO)

pumped by an Ho:YAG crystal laser.

This is a world record and it gives

Europe the opportunity to become

independent of non-European OPO

manufacturers.

A world record was achieved within

the EU Framework Program 7 project

MIRSURG (Mid-Infrared Solid State

Laser Systems for Minimally Invasive

Surgery). Some years ago it was con-

sidered impossible to achieve a

higher energy per pulse than 2 mJ

from a Tm:YAG crystal. This year ISL

reached 13.6 mJ at a 100 Hz pulse

repetition frequency by using a new

resonator geometry.

ISL also has huge experience in the

development of range-gated active

imaging systems. In the past years

we concentrated on eye-safe terres-

trial systems for the surveillance of

zones in severe environments. The

French police bought two different

systems for evaluation purposes and

the German Federal Police is strong-

VBL (light armoured vehicle) with an ISL change

detection system at EurosatoryPreparation of experiments for counter-rocket artillery

mortar combating by laser illumination

LAUNCHERS PULSED POWER TECHNOLOGY ACOUSTICS

In the fi eld of pulsed power technol-

ogy and related military and dual-

use applications ISL has initiated

the creation of the European Pulsed

Power Laboratories (EPPL). At

present, institutes from Italy, Bel-

gium, Lithuania, Germany, Sweden

and France are participants in it. As

a fi rst step towards the Europeaniza-

tion of ISL, the objective of EPPL is

the coordination of European re-

search on pulsed power within the

framework of a joint programme.

Other goals are to organize pulsed

power related workshops and to apply

jointly for European projects, such

as those proposed by EDA, for exam-

ple. Among others, ISL will contrib-

ute to EPPL by conducting energy

storage and high-power semiconduct-

ing switch research activities. The

focus is put on SiC-based devices, a

fi eld in which ISL is in a position to

demonstrate the optical triggering of

SiC thyristors with UV LEDs for the

fi rst time. With respect to pulsed

power supplies, a twenty-stage XRAM

generator with a toroidal coil arrange-

ment was operated successfully. This

device is equipped with a unique

commutating device using the coun-

ter current principle.

The research activities in terms of

launcher development are focused on

electromagnetic railguns. The main

objectives are multishot operation and

the development of payload projec-

tiles. To this end, initial experiments

using a new 600-g payload projectile

were conducted. With respect to

multishot research, the RAFIRA ac-

celerator, developed to prove the

multishot capabilities of railguns, was

able to match or surpass currently

installed conventional gun systems

in cadence and shot velocity.

In terms of metrology, investigations

in such areas as high magnetic fi eld

measurements, EMC (Electromag-

netic Compatibility) and the velocity

control of railgun projectiles are being

carried out in close connection with

European partner institutes. A further

contract with the US Navy was signed

in the fi eld of railgun armature.

Another pulsed power application is

related to High Power Microwaves

(HPMs) and Ultra-Wideband sources

(UWBs). Our work is particularly fo-

cused on the development of modu-

lar, ultra-compact MARX generators

used for supplying mobile microwave

31

is based on digital signal processing

techniques allowing the implementa-

tion of these capabilities in the same

hardware base.

The acoustic detection of weapon

noise, combined with the optical de-

tection of the shooter, provides valu-

able information for counter-sniping.

The network architecture formed by

a group of soldiers equipped with

such sensors associated with a set

of UGS (Unattended Ground Sensors)

will allow each individual soldier to

have an extended fi eld of view and a

greater listening range.

In terms of long-range acoustic propa-

gation, numerical atmospheric models

are becoming more and more realistic

and can be coupled to meteorological

models to estimate the impact of at-

mospheric parameters on the perform-

ance of acoustic detection systems.

In the fi eld of the soldier’s protection

against blast waves and non-penetrat-

ing impact, ISL is working on improv-

ing the measurement techniques.

For more information:

Contact: div4@isl.eu

allows continuous scientifi c progress

in the fi eld of spectroscopy.

The THz and NQR techniques have

been included, together with different

other detection methods developed

at ISL, in the new multidisciplinary

project “Detection of explosives and

illicit substances”.

In the domain of acoustics and protec-

tion of the soldier, ISL is developing

innovative solutions to protect soldiers

against noise trauma when fi ring

weapons, driving noisy vehicles or

fl ying helicopters. But these devices

also have to ensure a good intelligibil-

ity of the audio communication and

to guarantee the perception of the

acoustic environment.

New personnel protection equipment

combining good passive attenuation,

electronic protective assistance, e.g.

talk-through, Active Noise Reduc-

tion, and improved audio communi-

cation capabilities, e.g. denoising,

3D audio display, is studied in order

to provide better performances and

to satisfy the upcoming need for fu-

ture standard requirements. Unlike

for existing simple systems, our work

sources. Trials carried out indoors

and outdoors showed that the system

is effi cient for car and boat stopping.

In the domain of electromagnetic de-

tection, research on Nuclear Quadru-

pole Resonance (NQR) technology for

the detection of bulk explosives was

intensifi ed. The new generation of

NQR spectrometers is now fully op-

erational and dedicated probes with

thermal control proved their effi cien-

cy in obtaining energetic material

characteristics (mainly RDX). In the

near future, some narcotics, such as

cocaine and heroin, are planned to be

included in the measurement cam-

paign in order to assess the potential

of this technique for detecting them

as well as for analyzing adulterants.

THz technology is another detection

method on which ISL is concentrating

its efforts. By using a newly developed

all-electronic 3D THz imaging system,

the fi rst encouraging results could be

recorded and presented successfully

at international conferences. While

the new customized THz spectro-

scopy system is currently being built,

the cooperation with various French

and German partner institutes also

CONTEXT

Some recent military actions (Bosnia,

Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) have

highlighted the fact that snipers are a

threat to the armed forces. Dismount-

ed soldiers are one of the main targets

of snipers. ISL is continuing funda-

mental researches into systems allow-

ing individual soldiers to have their

own capabilities to detect and localize

snipers, especially when they are far

away from any support vehicles. Among

the detection techniques, optical and

acoustic sensors remain a vital asset

in the context of Global Security and

their integration into multisensor and

network-based systems is being con-

sidered.

More specifi cally, the objectives of the

studies conducted within the framework

of the ISL “PAF” Project are to inves-

tigate new advanced perception tools

based on acoustic and active imaging

technologies, and to evaluate their op-

erational use. In fact, the increase in

the perception capabilities of dismount-

ed soldiers and the sharing of informa-

tion through a network within a group

of soldiers (fi g. 1) are important factors

for operational superiority, in terms of

manoeuvre behaviour as well as for

their own protection.

ISL PROJECT

Prior to starting these studies, the main

issues were:

• What are the assistant devices al-

lowing the dismounted soldier to

have a better perception of his en-

vironment and to better detect the

surrounding threats?

• How can the coordination between

the members of a group of combat-

ants, mainly based on audio com-

munication and local radio

transmission, be increased?

• How can we improve the transmis-

sion of the information about the

detected events to the user?

• How can these functionalities be

combined within the individual head

equipment of future soldier systems?

The competences of ISL in the fi elds

of hearing protection, audio commu-

nication by bone conduction, 3D audio

displays, acoustic detection and lo-

ADVANCED PERCEPTION FOR THE DISMOUNTED SOLDIER.“PAF” PROJECT

33

latter is also plotted on a wide screen

by using the SPIDER software developed

by the DGA-TT (formerly ETBS).

Using 3D audio communication and

adapted networking allows the soldiers

to be aware of their relative positions

even when they move.

HELMET-MOUNTED ACOUSTIC ARRAY

The advantage of using acoustics for

such systems can easily be explained

by considering their capability to de-

tect NLOS (Non-Line-Of-Sight) sound

sources 24 hours a day (day and night),

with a 360 degree fi eld of sensing and

by passive means. The high acoustic

level of the waves generated by a shot

(fi g. 4), as measured during previous

detections, is a favourable factor for

acoustic detection.

For infantry applications small and port-

able systems are required. We worked

on a prototype where the microphones

are located on the ballistic helmet, this

high position allowing the best record-

ing of events. ISL’s system is equipped

• the acoustic sensors mounted on the

helmets of the soldiers (fi g. 3) receive

the signal used for the detection and

the localization of the sniper;

• in less than three seconds the infor-

mation acquired by each soldier is

transmitted by the network to a cen-

tral PC in charge of the fusion of the

information, i.e. the determination

of the local bullet trajectory and of

the origin of the round of shots. The

estimated position (GPS coordinates)

is then transferred to the optical

system and to all the soldiers;

• in less than fi ve seconds, the camera

is oriented in the estimated direction

and begins the image acquisition to

obtain a view confi rming the pres-

ence of the shooter (or at least the

shooting position);

• in less than one minute, the active

imaging system acquires a scan of

the scene and a central unit recon-

structs the 3D view which is then

projected to the command post by

using a 3D beamer (and associated

3D LCD glasses).

At the same time, the three soldiers

receive an audio warning message spa-

tialized in the direction of the threat (the

calization of weapon fi ring, active im-

aging with reconstitution of the 3D

scene, and sensor networks, were used

to develop a demonstrator for a system

with the following capabilities:

• detection of weapon fi ring by using

an acoustic array fi tted on the helmet,

• image acquisition of the scene dur-

ing the day or at night with a port-

able active imaging system,

• restitution of the scene by means of

optical and acoustic 3D techniques,

• audio communication in a noisy en-

vironment coupled with hearing pro-

tection against weapon noise and

including 3D audio capabilities be-

tween the members of the group.

In order to demonstrate the capabilities

of our system, we organized a fi eld

demonstration (fi g. 2) on the ISL fi ring

range. It consisted of a classical sce-

nario with a group of dismounted sol-

diers being the targets of a sniper: at

night a sniper fi red with his small-

calibre gun (7.62 mm) in the direction

of a group of three soldiers.

The different steps of the operation

are as follows:

Fig. 1 – Scenario showing a sniper fi ring at a group of equipped soldiers transmit-ting the information to the camera

Fig. 2 – Schematic representation of the outdoor demonstration at night with a small-calibre weapon (7.62 mm)

Evaluation of: acoustic detection

and localization of sniper active imaging

SHOOTING ZONE

SECURE ZONE

Evaluation of: 3D audio hearing protection 3D imaging sniper alert

PC

LCD 3D screen

the time of arrival of the detected Mach

wave on each microphone and calcu-

lates the Direction Of Arrival (DOA) of

the wave. The muzzle wave is localized

by using the beam forming method.

After the DOAs of the muzzle and Mach

waves have been evaluated, it is pos-

sible to estimate the velocity and calibre

of the bullet, the miss distance and the

shooter-to-array distance.

Initial versions of the prototype of the

acoustic localization system were

tested in France (Bourges) and Ger-

many (Lehnin) by fi ring more than

2000 shots, with calibres ranging be-

tween 5.56 and 12.7  mm at dis-

tances between 100 and 600 m. For

those prototypes, the detection and

localization algorithms were fi rst im-

plemented on a PC for real-time com-

putation. After the detection and

localization capabilities had shown a

good performance level, ISL decided

to develop a portable prototype (fi g. 5).

It was presented in December 2009.

A Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is

dedicated to the signal detection, clas-

sifi cation and localization. Then it

sends the relevant information (GPS

position of the array, time of arrival and

with eight microphones (six micro-

phones around the periphery of the

helmet and two on top), a magnetic

compass and a GPS. These sensors are

connected to a portable signal process-

ing unit which is in charge of the data

acquisition, the signal processing and

the networking with the command post.

The pressure and the time character-

istics of the Mach wave generated by

a supersonic bullet associated with the

characteristics of the muzzle wave

caused by the combustion of the pow-

der are the main information used for

the recognition of a threat. The spectral

analysis of this wave allows its detection

and accurate classifi cation if the sam-

pling rate is high enough (> 80 kHz).

The detection algorithm uses classical

signal processing techniques (inspired

by speech processing methods such

as speech pause detection). It was

developed to prevent false alarms due

to static or moving continuous noise

sources close to the arrays.

The localization of the detected waves

is performed by using a processing tech-

nique for acoustic arrays. It estimates

Fig. 4 – Pressure-time representation of the different waves originating from a sniper weapon (the fi rst wave is the Mach wave attached to the projectile; it is followed by the muzzle wave)

Fig. 5 – Helmet-mounted array

pressure

muzzle wave

Mach wave

Mach wave reflected on the ground

t0 0.1 s

Fig. 3 – Photograph of a helmet equipped for acoustic sniper detection

35

to the soldier without distracting him

from other tasks (e.g. visual and ma-

nipulation tasks). However, this sense

is very vulnerable to overloads and may

be damaged when exposed to impulse

or continuous noise with high pressure

levels. If, for instance, a soldier is ex-

posed to weapon noise without hearing

protection, this may cause a temporal

or permanent reduction of his hearing

capabilities, and thus reduce his op-

erational effectiveness.

For the demonstration tests, a spe-

cifi c electronic board was developed,

including the interfaces and acces-

sories necessary to assume the follow-

ing capabilities:

• hearing protection against weapon

noises allowing the perception of the

acoustic environment,

• audio communication including the

3D spatialization of the speaker

(fi g. 8),

• capturing audio signals by means of

osteo-microphones,

• 3D audio restitution of the threat.

The electronic board, designed at ISL,

is portable by each soldier and powered

direction of arrival of the waves, Mach

wave characteristics) via a network to

a central PC that refi nes the results by

using a data fusion algorithm. The GPS

coordinates of the shooter obtained

after data fusion are transmitted to the

active imaging system, to the 3D audio

systems and are displayed on a map

by using the SPIDER software. During

the experiments of the fi eld campaign

in December, the standard deviation of

the estimated DOA of the muzzle wave

was equal to two degrees. For helmet

No. 1, the estimation of the calibre was

correct for 80 % of the shots, for hel-

mets Nos. 2 and 3, it was accurate for

98.5 % and 100 % of the shots.

HEARING PROTECTION, COMMUNICATION AND PERCEPTION OF THE ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT

Hearing allows the combatant to per-

ceive information about his environment

(and potentially to localize a threat)

without necessarily seeing it and with-

out prior knowledge of its location. It

is also a communication channel that

allows the transmission of information

by batteries. It is based on a high-

performance fl oating-point DSP sys-

tem. It also includes commercial

circuits for the WLAN networking, the

GPS receiver and the audio interfaces

(fi g. 6 and fi g. 7) of the system.

Classical Hearing Protection Devices

(HPDs) will avoid hearing impairment

and its related problems, but the use

of these devices will also reduce the

operational effectiveness, due to the

attenuation of weak noises that are im-

portant for the perception of the acous-

tic environment. We used a personalized

earplug (individually moulded) in which

a passive nonlinear fi lter (level-depend-

ent) had been inserted in parallel to a

miniaturized loudspeaker used for the

radio communication channel (fi g. 9).

This confi guration provides a good pro-

tection against weapon noises; it is

customized to the soldier´s ears (good

wearing comfort) and guarantees a good

perception of the acoustic environment,

including verbal communication.

Dismounted soldiers are also in contact

with the other members of their group

by using radio communication equip-

ment. It has been shown (Garinther et

Fig. 6 – Schematic of the communication system using a 3D audio display for the acoustic representation of threats and of the speech communication

Fig. 7 – Hardware of the communication system built at ISL

micro-

headphoneleft

right

phoneADC

DAC

spatializationaudio source 1

spatializationaudio source 2

spatializationthreat alert

compression

decompression

decompression

determinationof direction

determinationof direction

determinationof direction

local storedalert signal

compass

GPSreceiver

WLA

N ra

dio

ZigB

eera

dio

multiplexeddata for

transmission

demultiplexedreceived

data

head position

local GPS

audio data(mono)

TX-data

RX-data

GPS ofsource 1

GPS ofsource 2

audio dataof source 1

(mono)

audio dataof source 2

(mono)GPS of threat

number of alert signal

GPSreceiver

powersupply

JTAGconnectors

GPSantenna

compassconnector

microphone inmicrophone out

DSP module

Ethernet

WLAN radio

line out

line in

WLAN antenna

al., US ARL) that the success of a mis-

sion is directly related to the intelligibil-ity of the communication and therefore,

it is important to develop technologies

for the recording and restitution of the

verbal communication that are opti-

mized for use in a given environment

(e.g. in a very noisy environment).

If speech has to be recorded in a noisy

environment, simple aero-acoustic mi-

crophones do not generally perform

well; therefore, it is preferable to use

osteo-microphones. This type of micro-

phone records the skull vibrations in-

duced by the vibrations of the vocal

tract during speech. These devices can

be fi tted in the headgear of the soldier,

e.g. in the headband of the protection

helmet (solution used in our project)

or integrated into a gas mask, etc. Dur-

ing our tests, the use of osteo-micro-

phones for the recording of speech was

well accepted by the users. The intel-

ligibility of the speech is usually quite

good if meaningful sentences are used

for the tests. However, if single words

or phonemes are used, problems like

confusion between vowels may be ob-

served. This is due to the different

transmission from the vocal tract to

the vibration pickup, compared to the

“normal” speech recording with micro-

phones. Although there are such prob-

lems, osteo-microphone systems can

be benefi cial in noisy environments or

in situations where the precise position-

ing of an air microphone in front of the

mouth cannot be maintained.

Most of the presently used audio com-

munication systems reproduce the

received signal “as is” to the soldier.

This audio signal is mono channel,

and is often only presented to one ear.

Signals presented in this way require

the listener to be more attentive and

necessitate a better signal-to-noise

ratio (SNR) for the same intelligibility.

As the communication systems nor-

mally use digital radio transmission

and the equipment of the dismounted

soldier includes GPS sensors, it is pos-

sible to transmit, together with the

speech signal, the position of the

speaker. This information can be used

to process the single-channel audio

data in such a way that the perceived

direction of arrival points at the posi-

Fig. 8 – Principle of a 3D audio display

Fig. 9 – Photograph of personalized ear-plugs (individually moulded) equipped with a passive nonlinear fi lter (level- dependent) and a miniaturized loud-speaker (hearing aid type)

r

x(t)~

Perceived location of speakers or threat

Speaker or threat coordinates(r, , )

hL(t)~

Voice or alert message xA(t)hR(t)~

xL(t) xR(t)HRTF database,

interpolation

✱ ✱

37

tion of the speaker or to a threat (e.g.

sniper) independently of the position

of the listener´s head. ISL has shown

that this type of advanced audio display is very intuitive, and allows the par-

ticipants to assess the position of the

speaker (or threat) without needing

visual queues. If the speech comes

from more than one source, it also

allows us to spatially discriminate be-

tween the different speakers, and thus

to concentrate on the most important

message. If used as a localization

queue for threats, the 3D audio display

allows the threat to be spotted faster.

On the whole, a 3D audio display will

enhance the protection and the military

effectiveness of the dismounted sol-

dier; besides, as most of the required

hardware is already part of the equip-

ment, there should not be an unreason-

able increase in energy consumption

or weight.

OPTICAL DETECTION

PRINCIPLEAfter the detection and localization of

an initial gunshot by the acoustic sys-

tem, it is important to give the opera-

tor the ability to create an image of

the area of interest. The choice of an

active imaging system instead of a

simple camera or an IR camera has

many advantages:

• by using the cat’s eye effect (fi g. 10)

it is possible to accurately localize

the rifl e scope used by the sniper;

• if a sniper is present in the fi eld of

view, it is possible to detect him

before he shoots;

• if the sniper does not use a rifl e

scope, it is defi nitely very interesting

to analyze the image and the behav-

iour of the people present in the

shooting zone;

• active imaging has day/night as well

as bad-weather pointed-optic detec-

tion capabilities, at very long ranges

which can exceed several kilometers

(fi g. 11);

• active imaging allows the 3D repre-

sentation of the acquired image.

The principle of combining acoustic

and optical detections is the following

one. The acoustic system detects and

localizes the origin of the gunshot with

a precision that is better than

-/+ 2.5 degrees in the worst case. In

quasi real time, the GPS coordinates

of the gunshot are transmitted to the

optical system. The active imaging

system, fi xed on a fast pan-and-tilt

pod, is pointed at the GPS coordinates

transmitted by the acoustic system.

With a fi eld of view of 6 degrees, one

can be sure that the sniper will be on

the captured image, close to the cen-

tre of the latter. The z-coordinate

given by the acoustic system (i.e. the

distance between the optical system

and the sniper) allows us to position

the light sheet very accurately on the

location of the fi red gunshot and to

use the capability of range-gated active

imaging to visualize only one part of

the scene in depth or to improve vision

under bad weather conditions.

THE ACTIVE IMAGING SYSTEMTo perform the recognition or the iden-

tifi cation of a person in the shooting

zone, the active imaging system has

to produce a clear image of the scene.

The 808 nm illumination wavelength

is chosen to be very close to the visible

spectrum, as the image obtained is

Fig. 10 – Cat’s eye effect observed in the eyes of two does, produced by an active imaging system

Fig. 11 – Snipers (left-hand image (Internet)); sniper rifl e scope detection at 2500 m (right-hand image) achieved by using an active imaging system at a 1.5 m illumina-tion wavelength

very similar to a visible image. At a

wavelength of 1.5 m, face identifi ca-

tion would not operate as the spectral

refl ectance of the human skin is close

to zero. Figure 12 shows the active

imaging system which was developed

for pointed optic detection.

3D IMAGE RESTITUTION

From a technical point of view, the

range-gated active imaging system is

able to explore the scene in depth up

to a distance of 3 km, with light sheets

of various thicknesses ranging from

150 m to 1 km. ISL studied two meth-

ods for 3D reconstruction. The fi rst

one is a tomographic method, the sec-

ond one is a two-pulse technique.

The tomographic method uses a very

small slice of light which will scan the

depth of the scene. All the images

produced will be used to reconstruct

a virtual 3D model of the scene. Thus,

the precision of this 3D model depends

on the value of the step used for scan-

ning the scene. As a matter of fact, we

have to choose a compromise between

precision and processing time. Fig-

ure 13 shows a landscape reconstruct-

ed in 3D by means of this method.

The two-pulse technique uses the in-

trinsic intensity distribution in the light

sheet to determine the depth of each

pixel in the image. Indeed, it was dem-

onstrated that the gray level of each

pixel is related to the spectral refl ect-

ance of the object imaged on this

pixel, modulated by the distance be-

tween the object and the system.

Therefore, using only two images of

the same scene is suffi cient to extract

the distance information and to display

a complete 3D map of the scene. This

method has the advantage of being

very discrete (only two pulses of light

are used to illuminate the scene) and

it does not require a long processing

time. Figure 14 shows a 3D result ob-

tained with this method.

To enhance the understanding of the

scene, we implemented the 3D recon-

struction in our optical system. After

the gunshot, the optical system is

pointed at the shooting zone and per-

forms an automatic 3D reconstruction

Fig. 12 – Active imaging system for sniper detection. The lower lens is de-signed to illuminate the scene; the upper one is the imaging lens of the intensifi ed camera

Fig. 13 – ISL’s 2-km-long proving ground digitized in 3D by means of the tomographic method

39

of the volume around the location of

the fi red gunshot. Figure 15 shows the

system pointed at the shooting zone,

one of the images produced by the

system and a 3D reconstruction of the

zone around the detected sniper.

SENSOR NETWORK

The acoustic and optical sensors, as

well as the restitution devices, are con-

nected to a high-speed network (1 GB/

sec) by using the TCPIP protocol. Two

computers of the PC type have spe-

cifi c tasks: the fi rst one is in charge of

receiving the detected events from the

acoustic or the optical sensor, of per-

forming the fusion of these data, and

of sending the GPS coordinates of the

estimated sniper position to the active

imaging system. The other computer is

in charge of receiving the sequence of

images obtained by the active imaging

system, of restituting the 3D scene and

fi nally of displaying it with the ad-hoc

equipment (beamer, 3D LCD glasses).

During preliminary tests, the beamer

was the equipment which gave the best

3D rendering of the scene.

As far as the acoustic information is

concerned, the local bullet trajectory

and the origin of the shot are esti-

mated independently by the indi-

vidual helmet-mounted arrays. The

fusion and triangulation of the angular

responses (DOAs) from two or more

antennas are envisaged to obtain more

accurate coordinates for the origin of

the shot and of the impact point (GPS

or Cartesian localization).

The main diffi culty remains the design

of a robust algorithm capable of choos-

ing the right association of detected

events in the case of multiple simul-

taneous shots in the area. The use of

the angular responses from more than

two macrosensors is a great asset for

eliminating false alarms and numerical

mirages.

For static positions, the result is ac-

curate if the triangle formed by the

two macrosensors and the source is

well proportioned. For a standard use,

the DOAs and the distances calcu-

lated by the macrosensors are broad-

cast in real time on the SPIDER

network and presented as georefer-

enced plots superimposed on aerial

views of the site.

CONCLUSION

During this project we developed and

tested some technology candidates for

the future evolution of the soldier sys-

tems. The objectives were to increase

the individual protection and to enhance

the operational effectiveness. The net-

working capabilities within a group of

soldiers for the detection and restitution

of threats in the domain of acoustics

and active imaging were demonstrated.

The tested components present inter-

esting advantages that should benefi t

future soldiers:

• good day/night capabilities for snip-

er detection in conjunction with

acoustic and optical systems,

• an intuitive perception / localization

of threats with 3D audio and video

displays,

• an enhanced coordination between

the members of the group (espe-

cially at night),

Fig. 14 – Example of a 3D reconstruction by using the two-pulse method

• a better audio communication in a

noisy environment.

In order to enhance the effi ciency of

the global system, an additional

number of detection platforms can be

developed: Unattended Ground Sen-

sors, vehicle-mounted sensors and

single-microphone networked nodes.

New developments have to be inves-

tigated with respect to complex acous-

tic propagation environments like

those that can be observed in urban

confl icts. New algorithms like those

based on the time reversal technique

associated with terrain and building

databases are now being developed

at ISL in order to improve the perform-

ance in the estimation of the shooter’s

position. A new range-gated active

imaging system with enhanced capa-

bilities will be built. It will work at

1.5 m, in the eye-safe region of the

spectrum, and use two synchronized

zoom lenses for the illumination and

imaging channels, thus giving the op-

erator the possibility of focusing on

the threat zone.

All these improvements in the PAF

technology will be demonstrated with-

in the framework of the new IMOTEP

project (IMprovement of Optical and

acoustic TEchnologies for Perception)

which was launched in 2010.

These studies were initiated by ISL in

the context of its programme of work

and were supported by governmental

contracts from the DGA and the BWB.

We are grateful for all this support and

the active involvement of the partici-

pants. We would also like to thank the

industrial partners in charge of the

FELIN and of the IdZ programmes for

their interest in these studies.

For more information on optical

detection and sensor network:

Contact: div3@isl.eu

For more information on acoustics:

Contact: div4@isl.eu

Fig. 15 – Field test with a real gunshot:a) the active imaging system is pointed at the GPS coordinates transmitted by the acoustic system and the light sheet is centred on the gunshot origin; b) image viewed by the optical system: the sniper is clearly visible thanks to the pointed optic detection;c) real-time 3D reconstruction of the zone around the sniper. The virtual manipulation of the 3D model under different points of view can greatly enhance the analysis of the scene

b) c)a)

reacting very quickly. ISL is also in a

position to manage research work over

several years, including third-party

contracts.

Today ISL´s fame is spreading abroad

thanks to overseas cooperation with

the USA, Canada, South Africa, Aus-

tralia and Japan, thus creating a

unique portfolio of customers belong-

ing to industries of defence, govern-

ments and administrations, civil

security and military forces.

The implementation of ISL´s business

strategy has also allowed the develop-

ment of a network of partnerships and

the growth of our customer portfolio

by identifying prospects. ISL has re-

cently expanded its prospects database

but also the number of cooperation

contracts with industries (including

SME) and universities around the

world. Several cooperation programmes

are also underway with MoDs and

Home Offi ces in other countries. The

setting-up of cooperation has led to

the intensifi cation of information ex-

change, to the valorisation of the ISL

know-how and the formation of partner-

ships. All these actions are favourable

for sustaining the fl ow of third-party

contracts, coming from partners or

through different European calls. Ad-

ditionally, we often form consortiums

with companies that are competitors

in other areas, thus providing custom-

ers with the best mix of capabilities

and allowing specifi c requirements to

be addressed.

GENERAL ASPECTS

ISL is a global defence and security

institute principally involved in the re-

search, design and development of

prototypes and providing its expertise

in order to meet French and German

MoD requirements and to prepare

tomorrow´s defence. The defence and

security prototypes developed by ISL

make our research institute a leader

providing solutions to a strong interna-

tional and domestic customer base,

including our principal customers, i.e.

the French and German Ministries of

Defence, but also the Home Offi ces,

the European Defence Agency and the

institutional and private customers with

products and services related to de-

fence, security and civil applications.

ISL has overcome the dividing line

between civil and military research by

reinforcing its activities on problems

of global security and countermeasures

against terrorism encountered both at

home and during overseas military

operations.

ISL’s key strengths include proven

skills in research and expertise man-

agement ranging from fundamental

aspects to prototype development. ISL

is able to contribute to projects in any

capacity, be it as prime contractor,

subcontractor or provider of high-value

services, depending on each custom-

er’s requirements. As a multidiscipli-

nary research institute, ISL is capable

of addressing very specifi c needs by

A portion of our business is classifi ed

by the French or German MoD and

cannot be described here.

ISL´s business aim for 2010 was

fi rstly to strengthen the excellent re-

sults of 2009. Secondly, several objec-

tives were identifi ed to increase the

number of third-party contracts (in-

cluding their average amount), of

French governmental contracts, of co-

operation contracts, of German cus-

tomers in different segments of the

market, as well as the civil portfolio

and the number of licence transfers.

The third target was for ISL to be

granted the accreditation for the

French Research Tax Credit and to sign

a convention with the DGA.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

ISL is a defence and security institute

that is principally involved in the re-

search, design and development of

prototypes in order to address the

needs of the French and German

MoDs. We provide a broad range of

scientifi c, engineering, technical, man-

agement, information and research

capabilities services. We supply both

domestic and international customers

with products and services related to

defence, security and civil applica-

tions, our main customers being the

French and German MoDs. More than

30% of ISL activities are under con-

tract, including 5% of third contracts.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

43

We have a great fl exibility in the dif-

ferent kinds of contracts; indeed, ISL’s

research work can be paid for by a

variable mix of funding and of mate-

rial services (human resources and

scientifi c means put at our disposal).

In the fi eld of defence, we address

needs in all kinds of domains: land,

aeronautic, spatial and naval research.

LANDOn land, ISL is involved in research,

design and development, including

new materials, protection against im-

provised explosive devices (including

detection and neutralization), optron-

ics, embedded lasers, time-gating ac-

tive imaging, sniper detection, vehicle

protection, combatant protection and

surface vehicle stopping.

AERONAUTICSOur aeronautic business is concerned

with research, design and develop-

ment, including guidance, navigation

and control, hybrid projectile/MAV sys-

tem, lasers as optronic countermeas-

ures and time-gating active imaging.

NAVAL RESEARCHIn the naval domain, we are studying

the possibility of integrating electro-

magnetic railguns into warships and

related technologies into submarines.

Time-gating active imaging technolo-

gies are also being investigated in

order to be incorporated into subma-

rine platforms.

SECURITYIn 2000, ISL started to expand its ac-

tivities in order to include Security is-

sues. In this fi eld, we are presently

participating in different national groups

like the National Security Group, the

Integration Mission Group – Security

Section: protection, neutralization, res-

toration technologies –, but we are also

cooperating with the “Secrétariat

Général de la Défense et de la Sécurité

Nationales” (SGDSN). Our Security line

business not only supports the needs

of both the French and German nations,

but also covers, at a European level,

such domains as the control of borders

(both land and maritime ones) and se-

curity in airports and railway stations

(including railway tracks). Thanks to our

own funding, several ISL projects could

be launched, like ARCADIS (Augment-

ed Reality and ChAnge Detection for

Itineraries Security), the detection of

explosives and illicit compounds like

drugs, IMOTEP (IMprovement of Optical

and acoustical TEchnologies for Protec-

tion) and ELSI (European Laboratory

for Sensory Intelligence). All these

projects are in keeping with the secu-

rity and safety of police forces (Home

Offi ces), but also with those of military

forces during overseas operations.

CIVIL RESEARCHISL´s policy of opening up has enabled

the Institute to have access to civil

markets related to our know-how. Our

civil line business covers different sec-

tors like space, health and transport.

We can mention nanotechnology for

space applications (opto-pyrotechnical

detonators and initiators), lasers for

surgery (health), and nanothermites

for future types of airbags (transport).

THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTSThis kind of contract involves typical

intellectual property rights. The results

obtained during a third contract belong

to the customer who pays for the ISL

research work; the results are not passed

on to the French and German MoDs. In

2010, the balanced mix of business in

the domain of third contracts is distrib-

uted as follows: 58% defence, 35%

security, 6% dual use (military-civil), 1%

spatial and medical. In 2010 ISL has

booked a satisfying level of new orders

with an increase of about 40% compared

to 2009. The increase in third-contracts

notifi cation, set as a target for 2010, has

been achieved successfully. Another goal

was the increase in the third-contract

average amount. Compared with 2009,

the latter has increased by 26%. The

Institute is also involved in DGA and

BWB third contracts, in the 7th R&D

Framework Programme of the European

Commission (for example Protectrail,

CONHIRMER), in the European Defence

Agency programmes (for example,

ICET2), in the French and German na-

tional programmes (the “Agence Natio-

nale de la Recherche” – ANR – and the

“BundesMinisterium für Bildung und

Forschung” – BMBF –, for example

DEMONSTRATEUR_GLMAV, TRISTAN)

and cooperates directly with industry.

Fig. 1 – ISL´s overseas cooperation.ISL is situated in Saint-Louis (France) near the German and Swiss borders. All the studies are conducted either at the main site (Saint-Louis) or at the proving ground near Mul-house

This level of new third-contract orders is

due to prospecting and identifying new

markets, and is also partially linked to

the quality management (including risk

analysis) introduced at ISL. ISL conducts

research and development activities un-

der customer-funded contracts and

sometimes with its own independent

research and development funds.

GOVERNMENTAL CONTRACTSContrary to those of third-party con-

tracts, the results obtained during a

governmental contract belong to both

the French and German MoDs.

The Institute has also entered new con-

tracts with the DGA and BWB. A conven-

tion was signed with the DGA in 2010

for a duration of 4 years. Thanks to this,

a number of French governmental con-

tracts are likely to be signed in the near

future. Our business is heavily regu-

lated in most of our fi elds of endeavour.

We deal with numerous French and

German MoD and Home Offi ce services.

During 2010 ISL has enhanced the

value of its patents by initiating a new

strategy of communication. In com-

parison with 2009, the number of offers

has increased. In addition to owning a

large portfolio of intellectual property,

we also license intellectual property to

third parties. ISL is carrying on with

the adaptation of its intellectual prop-

erty rights in order to meet the diver-

sity of its customers´ needs, while

protecting its intellectual heritage.

RESEARCH CAPABILITIESEvery year ISL has at its disposal

5.6  M€ allocated to investments.

Therefore, our institute has important

research capabilities and modern

laboratories with a lot of experimental

benches equipped, among others, with

high-speed metrology like: detonation

tanks, wind tunnels, shock tubes, high-

power lasers and electromagnetic rail-

guns. The French-German Research

Institute of Saint-Louis has the pos-

sibility of using various testing facili-

ties in different scientifi c domains.

This variety of testing devices allows

us to have a multidisciplinary approach

during trial campaigns. The synergies

between the different technologies give

ISL the possibility of exploring new

domains. All these research capabili-

ties as well as the proving ground can

be made available to outside contrib-

utors through contracts or cooperation.

The unique feature of our research

capabilities and the multidisciplinary

nature of our institute allow global

solutions to be provided for our cus-

tomers. The ISL projects mentioned

above are typical and global studies

which arouse keen interest among our

major partners. Moreover, ISL is ready

to consider global partnerships, in-

spired by its own initiative.

FRENCH RESEARCH TAX CREDITTax incentives have become an impor-

tant instrument for public policies to

stimulate business R&D. The French

Research Tax Credit (“Crédit d’impôt

Recherche”, CIR) is general and does

not target any specifi c sector or type

of company – unlike most direct aid

to R&D and innovation. Mainly, expen-

ditures relative to human and mate-

rial resources allocated to R&D,

subcontracted R&D, technological

watch, patenting or patent protection

are eligible. Since 2010, ISL has re-

ceived the French Research Tax Cred-

it accreditation for the next 3 years.

This should increase the number of

third contracts and licence transfers.

CONCLUSIONThe DGA and BWB have a multidisci-

plinary research institute at their dis-

posal, from upstream to downstream

research, meeting, on the one hand,

specifi c needs in the fi eld of defence

and addressing the requirements of

“security providers”, on the other

hand. Thus we are involved in ad-

vanced development programmes in-

cluding studies, design and rapid

prototyping development and their ap-

plications.

Thanks to our fl exibility, our research

capabilities and the adaptation of our

intellectual property rights, ISL is in

a position to address the diversity of

our customers’ needs.

The excellent results of the year 2009

have been reinforced in 2010. All the

targets planned for the year 2010 have

been achieved successfully.

Fig. 2 – ISL´s activities allocation

Defence

Security

Civil

Dual

HIRTH A., KIELECK C.Source laser multi-longueurs d’onde dans

l‘infrarouge

Ref. ISL: 229

Registered in France

Patent No.: 05 07239, fi led: 07.07.2005,

granted: 09.10.2009

HIRTH A., EICHHORN M.Device for generating laser radiation in the infrared

Ref. ISL: 205

Registered in the USA

Patent No: US-7,602,821, fi led: 10.12.2004,

granted: 13.10.2009

BORNE L., PATEDOYE J.-C.Device for measuring the density of particles by

fl otation

Ref. ISL: 234

Registered in the USA

Patent No: US-7,604,341, fi led: 04.04.2007,

granted: 27.10.2009

CHANGEY S., FLECK V., BEAUVOIS D.(1)

Procédé de détermination de l'attitude, de la

position et de la vitesse d'un engin mobile

Ref. ISL: 235

Registered in France

Patent No.: 07 07161, fi led: 12.10.2007,

granted: 20.11.2009

HIRTH A., KIELECK C.Procédé d'émission d'un rayonnement laser

pulsé et source laser associée

Ref. ISL: 242

Registered in Europe

Application No.: EP 09 000557.0, fi led:

16.01.2009, published: 16.12.2009

SCHNEIDER M., SPAHN E., BALEVICIUS S.(2), STANKEVIC V.(2), ŽURAUSKIENE N.(2)

Dispositif de mesure de l'introduction

magnétique comportant plusieurs bandes de

fi lm mince présentant des phénomènes de

magnétorésistance colossale

Ref. ISL: 238

Registered in France

Patent No.: 07 06610, fi led: 20.09.2007,

granted: 18.12.2009

HIRTH A., EICHHORN M.Cristal et source laser à haute énergie

Ref. ISL: 231.1

Registered in France

Patent No.: 06 10822, fi led: 12.12.2006,

granted: 01.01.2010

GNEMMI P., REY C.Low voltage device for the generation of plasma

discharge to operate a supersonic or hypersonic

apparatus

Ref. ISL: 228

Registered in the USA

Patent No. US-7,645,969, fi led: 22.09.2006,

granted: 12.01.2010

MOULARD H., RITTER A., BRODBECK J.-M.Low energy optical detonator

Ref. ISL: 194

Registered in Europe

Patent No. EP 02 292357.7, fi led: 25.09.2002,

granted: 03.03.2010 with designation of

following countries: France, Germany and Great

Britain

SCHNEIDER M.Canon à rails pour tirs en rafale et méthode

Ref. ISL: 217

Registered in France

Patent No.: 06 05584, fi led: 22.06.2006,

granted: 09.04.2010

RAYMOND P., PAILLET G.(3), MENENDEZ A.(3)

Sensoreinheit zur Umgebungsbeobachtung mit

neuronalem Prozessor

Ref. ISL: 250

Registered in Germany

Application No.: 10 2008 052 160.4, fi led:

20.10.2008, published: 22.04.2010

RAYMOND P., PAILLET G.(3), MENENDEZ A.(3)

Sensor unit for environment observation

comprising a neural processor

Ref. ISL: 250

Registered in the USA

Application No.: US 2010/0100514, fi led:

29.10.2008, published: 22.04.2010

STERZELMEIER K., DERKSEMA J.-J.(4)

Driving device for applying a magnetic pulse to

a mechanical assembly and aircraft carrying

ejection device implementing same

Ref. ISL: 237

Registered in Europe

Application No.: EP 09 827914.6, fi led:

22.08.2008, published: 28.04.2010

RAYMOND P., CHARON R.Element of an energy accumulating device and

associated generator

Ref. ISL: 220

Registered in Europe

Patent No.: EP 06 291369.4, fi led: 29.08.2006,

granted: 05.05.2010 with designation of

following countries: France, Germany, Great

Britain and Sweden

BUCK K., CHRISTOPH M.Bouchon d’oreille et méthode de fabrication

Ref. ISL: 223

Registered in France

Patent No.: 06 05582, fi led: 22.06.2006,

granted: 14.05.2010

PATENTS AND LICENCES 2010

(1) SUPELEC

(2) SPI

(3) General Vision

(4) ALKAN

(5) Private person

47

RAYMOND P., PAILLET G.(3), MENENDEZ A.(3)

Unité de détection équipée d’un processeur

neuronal et conçue pour l’observation de zone

Ref. ISL: 250

Registered in France

Application No.: 09 04993, fi led: 19.10.2009,

published: 14.05.2010

RAYMOND P., PICHLER A.Procédé de construction en temps réel de

vecteurs prototypes à partir de données d’entrée

d’un processus neuronal

Ref. ISL: 249

Registered in France

Application No.: 08 06334, fi led: 14.11.2008,

published: 21.05.2010

RAYMOND P., PICHLER A.Verfahren zum Aufbau von Prototypvektoren in

Echtzeit als Eingangsdaten für einen neuronalen

Prozess

Ref. ISL: 249

Registered in Germany

Application No.: 10 2009 051 093.1, fi led:

28.10.2009, published: 10.06.2010

RAYMOND P., PICHLER A.Method for constructing prototype vectors in

real time on the basis of input data of a neural

process

Ref. ISL: 249

Registered in the USA

Application No.: US-2010/0166297, fi led:

12.11.2009, published: 01.07.2010

BAUER F., FOUSSON E., BARAS C., BLAISE P.(5)

Method of manufacturing vinylidene difl uoride

and trifl uoroethylene-based dielectric copoly-

mers

Ref. ISL: 208

Registered in the USA

Patent No.: US-7,750,098, fi led: 24.07.2006,

granted: 06.07.2010

BAUER F., FOUSSON E., BARAS C., BLAISE P.(5) Procédé de fabrication de terpolymères diélec-

triques à base de difl uorure de vinylidène et de

trifl uoroéthylène

Ref. ISL: 208

Registered in France

Patent No.: 05 08050, fi led: 28.07.2005,

granted: 27.08.2010

EICHHORN M.Heat capacity laser and associated lasing

medium

Ref. ISL: 239

Registered in the USA

Patent No.: US-7,792,168, fi led: 17.07.2008,

granted: 07.09.2010

SOURGEN F., SPITZER D., COMET M., BARAS C., CISZEK F.Dispositif de pilotage d’un missile ou d’un

projectile

Ref. ISL: 248

Registered in Europe

Application No.: EP 10 002119.5, fi led:

02.03.2010, published: 08.09.2010

FLECK V., BERNER C.Projectile et procédé de pilotage associé

Ref. ISL: 236

Registered in France

Patent No.: 07 03461, fi led: 15.05.2007,

granted: 10.09.2010

SOURGEN F., SPITZER D., COMET M., BARAS C., CISZEK F.Dispositif de pilotage d’un missile ou d’un

projectile

Ref. ISL: 248

Registered in France

Application No.: 09 01037, fi led: 03.03.2009,

published: 10.09.2010

STERZELMEIER K., DERKSEMA J.-J.LIC 016, ALKAN SAS

Patent: Driving device for applying a magnetic

pulse to a mechanical assembly and aircraft

carrying ejection device implementing same

Ref. ISL: 237

Registered as PCT-Application

Application No. WO 2009/024733 A3

fi led: 22.08.2008, published: 26.02.2009

ISL-PU 601/2010Étude expérimentale de l'écoulement

d'un jet supersonique confi né dans

plusieurs confi gurations de conteneur

Experimental Investigations Using Parti-

cle Image Velocimetry and Wall Pressure

Measurements of a Confi ned Supersonic

Flow in Various Confi gurations

SOURGEN F., HAERTIG J., REY C.

13e Congrès Français de Visualisation et de

Traitement d'Images en Mécanique des Fluides,

Centre des Congrès, Reims, FR,

16-20 novembre 2009

ISL-PU 602/2010Reconstruction de la masse volumique

à partir des images CBOS

Reconstruction of the Density Field from

CBOS Pictures

LEOPOLD F., SOURGEN F., KLATT D., JAGUSINSKI F.

13e Congrès Français de Visualisation et de

Traitement d'Images en Mécanique des Fluides,

Centre des Congrès, Reims, FR,

16-20 novembre 2009

ISL-PU 607/2010Total-Internal-Refl ection-Pumped CW

Er3+:YAG Rod Laser with Crystalline

Fiber Geometry

EICHHORN M.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO

2009, CWA5, Baltimore/MD, US, 03.05.2009

ISL-PU 608/2010Thermal Lens Effects in an Er3+:YAG

Laser with Crystalline Fiber Geometry

EICHHORN M.

Applied Physics B 94, 451-457 (2009)

ISL-PU 609/2010Theoretical and Experimental Investiga-

tion on an Er3+:YAG Solid-State Heat-

Capacity Laser

EICHHORN M.

SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing 2009,

Orlando/FL, US, 13-17 April 2009, Proc. SPIE

"Laser Source Technology for Defense and

Security V", Vol. 7325-01

ISL-PU 610/2010Quasi-Three-Level Solid-State Lasers

in the Near and Mid-Infrared Based on

Trivalent Rare-Earth Ions

EICHHORN M.

Invited paper, Applied Physics B93, 269-316

(2008); Habilitation thesis presented at the

University of Hamburg, Germany (Oct. 2008)

ISL-PU 611/2010Q-Switched Tm3+:YAG Rod Laser with

Crystalline Fiber Geometry

EICHHORN M., KIELECK C., HIRTH A.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO

2009, CWH2, Baltimore/MD, US, May 3, 2009

ISL-PU 612/2010High-Power Resonantly Diode-Pumped

CW Er3+:YAG Laser

EICHHORN M.

Applied Physics B 93, 773-778 (2008)

ISL-PU 613/2010High-Power Resonantly-Diode-Pumped

CW Er3+:YAG Laser

EICHHORN M.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO

2009, CWA4, Baltimore/MD, US, May 3, 2009

ISL-PU 614/2010Fluorescence Reabsorption and its Effects

on the Local Effective Excitation Lifetime

EICHHORN M.

Applied Physics B 96 (2), 369-377 (2009)

SELECTION OF PUBLICATIONS 2010

* not member of ISL

49

ISL-PU 615/2010First Investigations on an Er3+:YAG SSHCL

EICHHORN M.

Applied Physics B93, 817-822 (2008)

ISL-PU 616/2010Experimental Results on an Er3+:YAG

Solid-State Heat-Capacity Laser

EICHHORN M.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO

2009, CWH6, Baltimore/MD, US, May 3, 2009

ISL-PU 617/2010Conception et réalisation d'un dé-

monstrateur pour un système hybride

projectile/drone miniature

Conception and Realisation of a Demon-

strator for a Hybrid Projectile/MAV System

GNEMMI P., CHANGEY S., BOUTAYEB M.*,

LOZANO R.*, SIRYANI R.*

Workshop Interdisciplinaire sur la Sécurité

Globale (WISG'10), Troyes, FR, 26-27 janvier 2010

ISL-PU 618/2010Numerical Modeling of Pulsed Raman

Fiber Converters at 2 m

GRUPPI D., EICHHORN M., HIRTH A., PFEIFFER P.*

IEEE J. Quantum Electronics, Vol. 45, No. 5,

446-453 (2009)

ISL-PU 619/2010Inband-Pumped Er:Lu2O3 Laser Near

1.6 m

HIRT C.*, EICHHORN M., KÜHN H.*,

PETERMANN K.*, HUBER G.*

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO

EUROPE 2009, May 15-19, 2009

ISL-PU 621/2010La simulation numérique des charges

formées

Numerical Simulation of Shaped Charges

CHANTERET P.-Y.

Sixièmes Journées Scientifi ques Paul Vieille,

"Histoire de la modélisation et de la simulation

en pyrotechnie", Paris, FR, 7-8 octobre 2009

ISL-PU 622/2010Overview of Activities at the ISL Hyper-

sonic Shock Tunnels

GNEMMI P., SRULIJES J., SEILER F.

45th Applied Aerodynamics Symposium,

Polytech' Marseille, FR, 22-24 March 2010

ISL-PU 625/2010A Software Based Approach for Autono-

mous Projectile Attitude and Position

Estimation

GRANDVALLET B.*, ZEMOUCHE A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*,

CHANGEY S.

International Conference on Soft Computing as

Transdisciplinary Science and Technology, Paris,

FR, October 27-31, 2008

ISL-PU 626/2010Filtre de Kalman étendu avec fenêtre

glissante : Application à la localisation

de projectile

A Sliding Window Extended Kalman Fil-

ter: Application to Projectile Localization

GRANDVALLET B.*, ZEMOUCHE A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*,

CHANGEY, S.

3es Journées Doctorales / Journées Nationales

MACS, Angers, FR, 17-18 mars 2009

ISL-PU 627/2010A Moving Horizon H8 Observer for

Discrete-Time Systems

GRANDVALLET B.*, ZEMOUCHE A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*,

CHANGEY S.

European Control Conference ECC'09, Budapest,

HU, August 2009

ISL-PU 629/2010Prise en compte des modèles de prévi-

sion météorologiques dans la propaga-

tion acoustique à grande distance

Consideration of the Use of Data Provid-

ed by Meteorological Forecast Models in

Long Range Acoustic Propagation

NAZ P., CHEINET S., HAMERY P.

10e Congrès Français d'Acoustique, Lyon, FR,

12-16 Avril 2010; "Acoustique et Techniques",

n° 60, 2010; Éditeur: CIDB

ISL-PU 630/2010Développement et évaluation d'un code

de propagation acoustique en domaine

temporel

Development and Evaluation of an

Acoustic Propagation Code in the Time

Domain

EHRHARDT L.*, CHEINET S.

10e Congrès Français d'Acoustique, CFA 2010,

Lyon, FR, 12-16 avril 2010

ISL-PU 632/2010Le rôle de la prosodie dans la percep-

tion de l'effort vocal

The Role of the Prosody in the Vocal

Effort Perception

FUX T., FENG G.*, ZIMPFER V.

Congrès Français d'Acoustique, Lyon, FR,

12-16 avril 2010

ISL-PU 635/2010State Estimation of Projectiles Based on

Doppler Radar Signals Using EKF and

UKF

PODJAWERSCHEK S., SPAHN E., BRODMANN M.*,

HORN J.*

18th Mediterranean Conference on Control and

Automation (MED´ 10), Marrakech, MA,

June 23-26, 2010

ISL-PU 636/2010Impressive Change of Reactive Proper-

ties of High Explosives Structured and

Stabilized at Nano-Scale in an Inert

Porous Matrix

COMET M., SIEGERT B., PICHOT V., SPITZER D.,

CISZEK F., PIAZZON N., GIBOT P.

35th International Pyrotechnics Seminar (2008),

Fort Collins/CO, US, July 13-18, 2008

ISL-PU 647/2010Hypersonic Flow-Field Measurements

by PIV

GNEMMI P., REY C., SRULIJES J., SEILER F.,

HAERTIG J.

ISFV14 - 14th International Symposium on Flow

Visualization, EXCO, Daegu, KR, June 21-24, 2010

ISL-PU 648/2010LPV Modeling of Guided Projectiles for

Terminal Guidance

THEODOULIS S., MOREL Y., WERNERT Ph.

18th Mediterranean Conference on Control and

Automation (MED'10), Marrakech, MA,

June 23-25, 2010

ISL-PU 649/2010The European Regulation 2003/10/EC

and the Impact of its Application to the

Military Noise Exposure

BUCK K., HAMERY P., ZIMPFER V.

Proceedings of the 20th International Congress

on Acoustics, ICA 2010, Sydney, AU,

August 23-27, 2010

ISL-PU 650/2010Flight Dynamics Properties of 155 mm

Spin-Stabilized Projectiles Analyzed in

Different Body Frames

WERNERT Ph., THEODOULIS S., MOREL Y.

AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference

and Exhibit, Toronto, CA, August 2-5, 2010

ISL-PU 651/2010Investigations on Dynamic Shell-

Induced Distortions of the Geomag-

netic Field for On-Board Magnetometer

Usages

BERNARD L., SOMMER E., JUNOD E., PECHEUR E.,

CHANGEY S.

61st Aeroballistic Range Association Meeting,

Thun, CH, September 12-17, 2010

ISL-PU 637/2010Filtre à fenêtre glissante pour l'estimation

de l'attitude et des vitesses d'un projectile

A Sliding Window Filter for Projectile

Attitude and Velocities Estimation

GRANDVALLET B.*, ZEMOUCHE A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*,

CHANGEY S.

6e Conférence Internationale Francophone

d'Automatique,CIFA'10, Nancy, FR, 2-4 juin 2010

ISL-PU 640/2010Special Solid-State Lasers for Protection

of Airborne Platforms by Jamming and

Damage

von SALISCH M.

Defence IQ 7th Annual Directed Energy Weapons,

London, GB, March 22-23, 2010

ISL-PU 643/2010A Real-Time Sliding Window Filter for

Projectile Attitude Estimation

GRANDVALLET B.*, ZEMOUCHE A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*,

CHANGEY S.

Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference,

AIAA GNC'10, Toronto/Ontario, CA,

August 2-5, 2010

ISL-PU 645/2010Chambre à Vide de Caractérisation

Haute Tension de Composants Semi-

conducteurs Nus

Vacuum Chamber Used for High Voltage

Characterisation of Semiconductor Dies

VERGNE B., PÂQUES G., KONRATH J.-P.,

SCHARNHOLZ S., DHEILLY N.*, PLANSON D.*

Colloque « Électronique de Puissance du Futur »

(EPF 2010), Saint-Nazaire, FR,

30 juin-2 juillet 2010

ISL-PU 646/2010Flow Visualization at High Atmospheric

Altitude Conditions in a Shock Tube

SEILER F., BASTIDE M., SAUERWEIN B.,

SRULIJES J., LEOPOLD F.

ISFV14 - 14th International Symposium on Flow

Visualization, EXCO, Daegu, KR, June 21-24, 2010

51

ISL-PU 652/2010Réalisation de diodes SiC simples pour

l'étude de passivations

Realization of Simple SiC Diodes for the

Investigation of Passivations

PÂQUES G., SCHARNHOLZ S., KONRATH J.-P.,

VERGNE B., DHEILLY N.*, PLANSON D.*,

DE DONCKER R.W.*

Colloque « Électronique de Puissance du Futur »

(EPF 2010), Saint-Nazaire, FR, 30 juin-2 juillet 2010

ISL-PU 653/2010How Numerical Simulation and Experi-

mental Studies Can Help to Enhance

Protection against BABT

SARRON J.C.*, PRAT N.*, MAGNAN P.,

DESTOMBE C.*, PILET C.*, VUILLEMOT V.*,

LOUVIGNE P.-F.*

Personal Armour Systems Symposium, Québec,

CA, September 13-17, 2010

ISL-PU 654/2010European Laboratories for Pulsed Power

Research

SPAHN E., LÖFFLER M.J.*, BALEVICIUS S.*

Proceedings of EAPPC 2010; 3rd Euro-Asian

Pulsed Power Conference, Jeju, KR, October

10-14, 2010

ISL-PU 662/2010Q-Switched Resonantly Diode-Pumped

Er3+:YAG Laser with Fiberlike Geometry

BIGOTTA S., EICHHORN M.

Optics Letters, Vol. 35, No. 17, 2010,

pp. 2970-2972

ISL-PU 664/2010Broadband THz Spectroscopy for

Biomedical and Security Applications

FISCHER B.M.*

Proceedings "5es Journées Térahertz",

Villeneuve d'Ascq, FR, June 10-12, 2009

ISL-PU 665/2010Spectroscopie et imagerie térahertz

pour des applications dans le domaine

de la sécurité pour la détection de

substances et objets dangereux

Detection of Hazardous Objects and

Substances with THz Spectroscopy and

Imaging for Safety and Security Applica-

tions

FISCHER B.M.*, DEMARTY Y.*

Proceedings "WISG'10 - Workshop Interdisciplinaire

sur la Sécurité Globale", Troyes, FR,

26-27 janvier 2010

ISL-PU 668/2010Conceptual Design of ”Silver Eagle“ –

Combined Electromagnetic and Hybrid

Rocket System for Suborbital Investiga-

tions

BOZIC O.*, SCHNEIDER M., PORRMANN D.*

Proceedings of the 61st International Astronauti-

cal Congress, Prague, CZ, 2010

ISL-PU 670/2010Experimental Study of Aluminium

Particles Dispersed and Ignited by High

Explosive

STURTZER M.-O., GREGOIRE Y.*, ECKENFELS D.

Military Aspect of Blast and Shock (MABS)

Symposium, Jerusalem, IL, October 2010

ISL-PU 671/2010Heat of Explosion of Energetic Materials:

Nonlinear Behaviour

RITTER H., BRAUN S., CISZEK F.

Proceedings of the 41st International Annual

Conference of ICT "Energetic Materials",

Karlsruhe, DE, 29.06.-02.07.2010

ISL-PU 673/2010Comparison of Dynamic Behaviour

of EMA-3 Railgun under Differently

Induced Loadings

TUMONIS L.*, SCHNEIDER M., KACIANAUSKAS R.*,

KACENIAUSKAS A.*

MECHANIKA 2009, No. 4(78), pp.31-37

ISL-PU 674/2010Use of New Warp Interlock Structures

against High Velocity Impact

PROVOST B.*, BOUSSU F.*, NUSSBAUM J.,

LEFEBVRE M.*

Personal Armor Systems Symposium, Quebec,

CA, September 13-17, 2010

ISL-PU 675/2010Uncertainties in Doppler Global

Velocimetry Measurements

MARTINEZ B., LEOPOLD F., GUERMEUR F., BAILLY Y.*

ISFV14 - 14th International Symposium on Flow

Visualization, EXCO, Daegu, KR, June 21-24, 2010

ISL-PU 679/2010Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Virtual Cath-

ode Oscillator with Feedback Mechanism

HURTIG T.*, BIETH F., DELMOTE P., ELFSBERG M.*,

NYHOLM S. E.*

EAPPC 2010 / BEAMS 2010, ICC Jeju, Jeju, KR,

October 10-14, 2010

ISL-PU 680/2010Commutateur 18 kV compact utilisant

des IGBT connectés en série

Compact 18 kV Switch Using IGBTs

Connected in Series

HECQUARD M., ZORNGIEBEL V., SCHARNHOLZ S.,

SPAHN E., WELLEMAN A.*

Colloque “Électronique de Puissance du Futur”

(EPF 2010), Saint-Nazaire, FR,

30 juin-2 juillet 2010

ISL-PU 684/2010Electromagnetic Launch Technology for

Hypervelocity Applications – The Multiple

Armature Approach of ISL

SCHNEIDER M.

Proceedings of the 11th Hypervelocity Impact

Symposium, Freiburg, DE, April 11-15, 2010

PU 687/2010Measurement of the Transient Flow

Velocity at the Exit of a Mach-3 Nozzle

in a Shock Tunnel by Means of Laser

Doppler Velocimetry

SRULIJES J., BASTIDE M., SEILER F., STRIBY J.-L.

Proceedings of the 15th International Symposium

on Applications of Laser Techniques to Fluid

Mechanics, Lisbon, PT, July 5-8, 2010

PU 692/2010Protection de l'audition des prépara-

teurs de commandes : un prototype

«talkthrough» pour bouchons moulés

Auditory Protection for Order Prepara-

tion Personnel: A Prototype of a “Talk-

Through” System with Molded Earplugs

CHEVRET P.*, TROMPETTE N.*, ZIMPFER V.,

BUCK K., CHATILLON J.*

10e Congrès Français d'Acoustique, Lyon, FR,

12-16 avril 2010

ISL-PU 693/2010Heat Transfer on a Cone in a Super-

sonic Flow at M = 3.5

SRULIJES J., SEILER F., HENNIG P.*, GLEICH P.*

International Symposium on Shock Waves,

ISSW27, Ioffe Physical Technical Institute,

St. Petersburg, RU, July 19-24, 2009

ISL-PU 694/2010Mach-4.5-Cross-Flow/Side-Jet Interfer-

ence on an Actual Cylindrical Missile

Confi guration

SEILER F., WEINAND K. *, SAUERWEIN B.,

DAHLEM K.J.*, HENNIG P.*, STERN G., SRULIJES J.,

LEOPOLD F.

International Symposium on Shock Waves,

ISSW27, Ioffe Physical Technical Institute,

St. Petersburg, RU, July 19-24, 2009

ISL-PU 695/2010New Explanation of Noise Production by

Supersonic Jets Confi guration

OERTEL H.*, SEILER F., SRULIJES J.

International Symposium on Shock Waves,

ISSW27, Ioffe Physical Technical Institute,

St. Petersburg, RU, July 19-24, 2009

ISL-PU 697/2010The Application of the Colored Back-

ground Oriented Schlieren Technique to

the Reconstruction of the Density Field

LEOPOLD F., SOURGEN F., KLATT D., JAGUSINSKI F.

ISFV14 - 14th International Symposium on Flow

Visualization, EXCO, Daegu, KR, June 21-24, 2010

ISL-U-PU 604/2010Characterization of Explosive Traces by

the Nanocalorimetry

PIAZZON N., ROSENTHAL M.*, BONDAR A.*,

SPITZER D., IVANOV D.A.*

Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 71

(2010) 114 - 118. © Elsevier

ISL-U-PU 605/2010The Effect of a Shock Wave on the

Ignition Behavior of Aluminum Particles

in a Shock Tube

SCHLÖFFEL G., EICHHORN A., ALBERS H.,

MUNDT C.*, SEILER F., ZHANG F.*

Combustion And Flame 157 (2010) 446-454.

© Elsevier

ISL-U-PU 606/2010Novel Processing Tools for Automated

Doppler Picture Velocimetry (DPV)

Evaluation

SEILER F., PICHLER A., PFAFF R.*, SRULIJES J.

Journal of Visualization, Vol. 12, No. 4 (2009)

323-337. © 2009 The Visualization Society of

Japan

53

ISL-U-PU 620/2010Network of Acoustic Sensors for the De-

tection of Weapons Firing: Tests for the

Choice of Individual Sensing Elements

NAZ P., MARTY C.*, HENGY S., HAMERY P.

© 2010 SPIE, Defense, Security & Sensing,

Orlando/FL, US, paper number 7694-32,

5-9 April 2010

ISL-U-PU 623/2010Evaluation Metrics for Range-Gated

Active Imaging Systems Using a

Lissajous-Type Eye Pattern

LAURENZIS M.

Applied Optics, Vol. 49, No. 12, 20 April 2010.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

ISL-U-PU 624/2010Optical Limiting Behavior of Carbon

Nanotubes Exposed to Infrared Laser

Irradiations Studied by the Z-Scan

Technique

MULLER O., LUTZ Y., TEISSIER A., MOEGLIN J.-P.,

KELLER V.*

Applied Optics, Vol. 49, No. 7, 1 March 2010.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

ISL-U-PU 628/2010Performance Study of a Novel 13.5 kV

Multichip Thyristor Switch

SCHARNHOLZ S., BROMMER V., ZORNGIEBEL V.,

WELLEMAN A.*, SPAHN E.

Proceedings of the 17th IEEE International

Pulsed Power Conference, Washington DC, June

28 - July 2, 2009, © 2009 Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

ISL-U-PU 631/2010Investigations and Design of Small-Size

Printed Antennas on a Reactive Imped-

ance Substrate

REN C.*, BERNARD L., SAULEAU R.*

4th European Conference on Antennas and

Propagation, Barcelona, ES, April 12-16, 2010.

© IEEE

ISL-U-PU 633/2010Preparation of Cr2O3 Nanoparticles for

Superthermites by the Detonation of an

Explosive Nanocomposite Material

COMET M., PICHOT V., SIEGERT B., FOUSSON E.,

MORY J., MOITRIER F.*, SPITZER D.

© Springer-Verlag, Journal of Nanoparticle

Research 12 (2010). DOI: 10.1007/s11051-010-

9948-8 - The fi nal publication is available at

www.springerlink.com

ISL-U-PU 634/2010Distance and Velocity Estimation of

Projectiles Based on Doppler Radar

Signals Using a Nonlinear Discrete-Time

Observer

PODJAWERSCHEK S., SPAHN E., HORN J.*,

BRODMANN M.*, HIMMELSBACH R.

© SPIE 2010, Proceedings of SPIE Defense

Security Sensing, Orlando/FL, US, April 5-9, 2010

ISL-U-PU 638/2010Tunable Generation and Adsorption

of Energetic Compounds in the Vapor

Phase at Trace Levels: A Tool for Testing

and Developing Sensitive and Selective

Substrates for Explosive Detection

BONNOT K., BERNHARDT P.*, HASSLER D.,

BARAS Ch., COMET M., KELLER V.*, SPITZER D.

© 2010 American Chemical Society, Analytical

Chemistry, Vol. 82, No. 8, April 15, 2010,

pp. 3389-3393

ISL-U-PU 639/2010Double-Opening Circularly Polarized

Patch Antenna with one Desired Open-

ing Diameter

BERNARD L.

© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Microwave and

Optical Technology Letters, Vol. 52, No. 9,

September 2010, pp. 1958-1962

ISL-U-PU 641/20103D Range-Gated Imaging in Scattering

Environments

LAURENZIS M., CHRISTNACHER F., MONNIN D.,

ZIELENSKI I.*

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 7684 - Laser

Radar Technology and Applications XV, April 2010

ISL-U-PU 642/2010Bistatic Range-Gated Active Imaging

in Vehicles with LEDs or Headlights

Illumination

CHRISTNACHER F., POYET J.-M., LAURENZIS M.,

MOEGLIN J.-P., TAILLADE F.*

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 7675 -

Photonics in the Transportation Industry: Auto to

Aerospace III; SPIE Defense & Security Symposium

2010, Orlando/FL, US, April 5-9, 2010

ISL-U-PU 644/2010Preliminary Investigation of Laser In-

duced Photoconductivity in 4H-SiC PiN

Diodes and HPSI Substrate

VERGNE B.*, SCHARNHOLZ S., KONRATH J.-P.,

COUDERC V.*, LEVEQUE L.*, SPAHN E.

© (2010) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland,

13th International Conference on Silicon Carbide

and Related Materials, Nurnberg, DE,

October 11-16, 2009; Silicon Carbide and Related

Materials, Vols. 645 - 648 (2010), pp. 917-920

ISL-U-PU 655/2010THz All-Electronic 3D Imaging for Safety

and Security Applications

FISCHER B., DEMARTY Y.*, SCHNEIDER M.,

LÖFFLER T.*, KEIL A.*, QUAST H.*

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 7671 -

Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems IV:

Advanced Applications in Industry and Defense,

art. No. 767111, 2010

ISL-U-PU 656/2010Effects of Formalin Fixing on the Terahertz

Properties of Biological Tissues

SUN Y.*, FISCHER B.M.*,

PICKWELL-McPHERSON E.*

© 2009 SPIE, Journal of Biomedical Optics,

Vol. 14(6), art. No. 064017,

November/December 2009

ISL-U-PU 658/2010Chemical Sensing and Imaging with

Pulsed Terahertz Radiation

WALTHER M.*, FISCHER B.M.*, ORTNER A.*,

BITZER A.*, THOMAN A.*, HELM H.*

© Springer, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry,

Vol. 397, Issue 3, June 2010, pp. 1009-1017

ISL-U-PU 659/2010Modelling of Sub-Wavelength THz

Sources as Gaussian Apertures

HUNGYEN L.*, FUMEAUX Ch.*, FISCHER B.M.*,

ABBOTT D.*

© 2010 Optical Society of America,

Optics Express 18 (17), 17672-17683, 2010

ISL-U-PU 660/2010Fixed Dual-Thickness Terahertz Liquid

Spectroscopy Using a Spinning Sample

Technique

BALAKRISHNAN J.*, FISCHER B.M.*, ABBOTT D.*

© IEEE, IEEE Photonics Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2,

August 2009

ISL-U-PU 661/2010Terahertz Spectroscopic Differentiation

of Microstructures in Protein Gels

PNG G. M.*, FALCONER J.*, FISCHER B.M.*,

ZAKARIA H. A.*, MICKAN S. P.*,

MIDDELBERG A. P.-J.*, ABBOTT D.*

© 2009 Optical Society of America, Optics Express,

Vol. 17, No. 15, pp. 13102, 20 July 2009

ISL-U-PU 663/2010High-Energy, In-Band Pumped

Q-Switched Ho3+: LuLiF4 2-m Laser

SCHELLHORN M.

© 2010 Optical Society of America,

Optics Letters, Vol. 35, No. 15, 2609 (2010)

ISL-U-PU 667/2010Thermal Effects and Upconversion in

the Er3+:YAG Solid-State Heat-Capacity

Laser (Invited Paper)

EICHHORN M.

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7836 -

Technologies for Optical Countermeasures VII,

Paper 7836-07

ISL-U-PU 669/2010Polarization Effects and Fiber-Laser-

Pumping of a 2-m-Pumped OPGaAs

OPO (Invited Paper)

KIELECK C., EICHHORN M., FAYE D.*, LALLIER E.*,

JACKSON S.D.*

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7582,

Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion:

Materials, Devices and Applications IX,

Paper 7582-36

ISL-U-PU 672/2010Pulsed 2 m Fiber Lasers for Direct and

Pumping Applications in Defence and

Security

EICHHORN M.

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7836 -

Technologies for Optical Countermeasures VII,

Paper 7836-10

ISL-U-PU 676/2010Modeling and Identifi cation of a

Launched Micro-Air Vehicle: Design

and Experimental Results

KOEHL A.*, RAFARALAHY H.*, MARTINEZ B.,

BOUTAYEB M.*

© AIAA, AIAA Modeling and Simulation

Technologies Conference, Toronto/Ontario, CA,

August 2-5, 2010

55

ISL-U-PU 677/2010Wind Disturbances and Aerodynamic

Parameters Estimation of an Experimen-

tal Launched Micro Air Vehicle Using an

EKF-Like Observer

KOEHL A.*, BOUTAYEB M.*, RAFARALAHY H.*,

MARTINEZ B.

© IEEE, 49th IEEE Conference on Decision and

Control, Atlanta/GA, US, December 15-17, 2010

ISL-U-PU 678/2010OP-GaAs OPO Pumped by 2 m

Q-Switched Lasers: Tm;Ho:Silica Fiber

Laser and Ho:YAG Laser

KIELECK C., HILDENBRAND A., EICHHORN M.,

FAYE D.*, LALLIER E.*, GÉRARD B.*,

JACKSON S.D.*

© 2010 SPIE, Proceedings of SPIE Volume 7836 -

Technologies for Optical Countermeasures VII,

Paper 7836-06

ISL-U-PU 681/20102-m-Fiber-Laser-Pumped OP-GaAs

OPO and its Polarization Effects

KIELECK C., EICHHORN M., FAYE D.*, LALLIER E.*,

JACKSON S.D.*

© 2010 Optical Society of America, OSA Optics

and Photonics Congress, Karlsruhe, DE,

June 21-24, 2010, Paper NWD5

ISL-U-PU 682/2010Miniaturization of Micrometric SiC from

a Detonation Process of Highly Energetic

Material

GIBOT P., MORY J., MOITRIER F.*, VIDAL L.*,

FOUSSON E., SPITZER D.

© 2010 Elsevier B.V., Powder Technology,

DOI:10.1016

ISL-U-PU 683/2010Original Synthesis of Chromium (III)

Oxide Nanoparticles

GIBOT P., VIDAL L.*

© 2009 Elsevier Ltd., Journal of the European

Ceramic Society 30 (2010), pp. 911-915

U-PU 685/2010Detecting Suspicious Objects along

Frequently Used Itineraries

MONNIN D.,SCHNEIDER A., BIEBER E.

© 2010 SPIE, Proc. SPIE Volume 7834 -

Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems:

Technology and Applications VII, November 2010

U-PU 686/2010An Effective Rigidity Constraint for

Improving RANSAC in Homography

Estimation

MONNIN D., BIEBER E;, SCHMITT G., SCHNEIDER A.

© Springer-Verlag; Published in: Lecture Notes in

Computer Science. ACIVS 2010 (Advanced

Concepts for Intelligent Vision Systems),

Macquarie University, Sydney, AU, Dec. 2010

U-PU 688/2010Heat Transfer at the Nose of a High-

Speed Missile

SRULIJES J., SEILER F., HENNIG P.*, GLEICH P.*

© Springer 2010, New Results in Numerical and

Experimental Fluid Mechanics VII, Notes on

Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary

Design (NNFM), Vol. 112

U-PU 689/2010Shock Tunnel Experiments and CFD

Simulation of Lateral Jet Interaction in

Hypersonic Flows Confi guration

HAVERMANN M., SEILER F., HENNIG P.*

© Springer 2010, New Results in Numerical and

Experimental Fluid Mechanics VII, Notes on

Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary

Design (NNFM), Vol. 112

U-PU 690/2010New Explanation of Noise Production by

Supersonic Jets with Gas Dredging

OERTEL H., SEILER F., SRULIJES J.

© Springer 2010, New Results in Numerical and

Experimental Fluid Mechanics VII, Notes on

Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary

Design (NNFM), Vol. 112

ISL-U-PU 691/2010Extreme Dielectric Strength in Boron

Doped Homoepitaxial Diamond

VOLPE P.-N.*, MURET P.*, PERNOT J.*, OMNÈS F.*,

TERAJI T.*, KOIDE Y.*, JOMARD F.*, PLANSON D.*,

BROSSELARD P., DHEILLY N.*, VERGNE B.*

SCHARNHOLZ S.

© 2010 American Institute of Physics. Applied

Physics Letters 97, 223510 (2010)

ISL-U-PU 696/2010Reduced-Sensitivity Nanothermites

Containing Manganese Oxide Filled

Carbon Nanofi bers

SIEGERT B., COMET M., MULLER O., POURROY G.*,

SPITZER D.

© American Chemical Society, Journal of Physical

Chemistry C (2010), DOI:10.1021/jp1014737

MAIN FIGURES

BUDGET

STAFF

19%

12%

69%

Expenses 2010: 47.802 M€

Salaries (and social security contributions)

Operating costInvestment

Workforce (01/12/2010): 364.1

Scientists

PhD students

Engineers

Technicians

Workers

Directors + Administration Staff

17.8%

22.9%

23.1%

14.34%

18.65%3.3%

DISTRIBUTION OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN 2010

SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTS

87 96

203

0

50

100

150

200

250

Reports and papers

Scientific publications edited in 2010

Publications(conferences, scientific journals, posters)

Documents written within the frameworkof a contract or an agreement

0

5

10

15

20

25

Percentage of total activity

12%

7.5%

23.3%

5.8%

19.2%

13.3%

18.9%

Innovative research

Lasers and laser applications

Perforation – protection – detonics

Protection and environment of soldiers

Guidance and control of projectiles

Electrical engineering

Management, technology transfer

Published by French-German Research Institute

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