Thermal model of ring laser gyro

Thermal effects impose the greatest limit on the precision of a ring laser gyro. This paper uses a twostep numerical model to analyze the internal temperature distribution during the gyroscope startup using the finite element analysis software MARC2000. The surface temperature was measured with an infrared detector. The extensive experimental data verified that the model can be used to further analyze the heat transfer. The heat transfer within the enhancement area is studied using the model to show that boundary layor theory is not appropriate to analyze the heat transfer in the enhancement area since the heat transfer is primarily due to atomic collision within the tube and cations combining with electrons. 