Investigation on the behavior of a laser propagating through a random environment induced by wind

Wind is an important factor in environment disturbance, and the inhomogeneous distribution of wind velocity leads to random airflow, which severely affects beam propagation. In this paper, numerical and experimental studies have been performed to investigate the behavior of a laser propagating through a random environment induced by wind, and the main focus is the beam deflection evolution under the effect of the wind velocity. The experiment is performed with the wind tunnel, and the beam deviates from the center during propagation, a process in which the average beam deflection presents an increasing trend for the larger wind velocity and the airflow interval. The simulation model of beam propagation through this kind of environment is proposed, and the numerical simulation agrees with the experimental results. With the model, the average beam deflection results are extended into the high-speed region, and the comparison between the airflow and turbulence environment is also presented. The results can find potential applications in optical propagation and communication between two moving platforms with high speed.