DEVELOPMENT OF MICROWAVE SURFACE PLASMAS - SPECTROSCOPIC SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION WITH GOVERNMENT RESEARCH…

Public award description

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROWAVE SURFACE PLASMAS - SPECTROSCOPIC SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION WITH GOVERNMENT RESEARCHERS SHALL BE PROVIDED IN THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROWAVE (MW) GENERATED SURFACE PLASMAS. THESE PLASMAS WILL ULTIMATELY BE EMPLOYED AS TRIPS TO CONTROL THE FLOW IN HYPERSONIC BOUNDARY LAYERS. SPECTROSCOPIC MEASUREMENTS OF N2, N2+, H, AND OTHER SPECIES AS NEEDED, WILL BE MEASURED AND ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE GAS TEMPERATURE AND ELECTRON DENSITY IN THE PLASMAS. CONCURRENTLY, HIGH SPEED PHOTOGRAPHS SHALL BE TAKEN TO REVEAL THE PLASMA SHAPE, THICKNESS, AND DURATION. THE PLASMA CHARACTERIZATION OUTLINED ABOVE SHALL BE CONDUCTED OVER THE PRESSURE RANGE 5 TO 760 TORR. THE RESEARCH SHALL SATISFY THE FOLLOWING TASKS: 1) GENERATE SURFACE (POINT) PLASMAS IN A GOVERNMENT OWNED, LABORATORY VACUUM CHAMBER USING S-BAND HALF-WAVELENGTH INITIATORS AT A FREQUENCY OF 2.45 GHZ. 2) INVESTIGATE INITIATOR DIMENSIONS, SHAPES, AND SHARPNESS FOR GENERATING THICK, HIGH TEMPERATURE SURFACE (POINT) PLASMAS. 3) OPTIMIZE CENTER ATTACHMENT POINT, SHAPE, AND OUTER COAXIAL SHIELD FOR MAXIMIZING E-FIELD AT ONE END ONLY OF THE INITIATOR. 4) INVESTIGATE (RECOMMEND) MATERIALS FOR INITIATOR CONSTRUCTION. 5) INVESTIGATE (RECOMMEND) DIELECTRIC MATRIX MATERIALS FOR WITHSTANDING THE HIGH TEMPERATURES ATTAINED BY THE INITIATOR TIPS. 6) FOLLOWING THE LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS, PROVIDE CONSULTATION TO NASA FACILITY PERSONNEL FOR PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF A HYPERSONIC, BOUNDARY LAYER MODEL TO BE TESTED AT MACH 6. 7) THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCED PLASMA SPECTROSCOPIST FOR AN AVERAGE OF 2 DAYS PER WEEK OVER THE 12 MONTH DURATION OF THE CONTRACT.