IGF::OT::IGF A TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING VELOCITY IN ROCKET PLUMES CALLED HYDROXYL TAGGING VELOCIMETRY (HTV),…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF A TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING VELOCITY IN ROCKET PLUMES CALLED HYDROXYL TAGGING VELOCIMETRY (HTV), WHICH WAS DEVELOPED PREVIOUSLY AND DEMONSTRATED ON A SMALL ROCKET ENGINE, IS PROPOSED FOR USE ON A FULL SCALE ENGINE. SPECIFIC GOALS OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDE PRODUCING A MEASUREMENT SYSTEM THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE HIGH ACOUSTIC LEVELS OF A RELEVANT FULL SCALE ROCKET ENGINE, DEVELOPMENT OF EFFICIENT USER-FRIENDLY SOFTWARE FOR PROCESSING THE RAW IMAGES TO PRODUCE VELOCITY DATA, VERIFYING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROTOTYPE AT RELEVANT TEMPERATURES AND H2O CONCENTRATIONS, AND DEMONSTRATING IT ON A FULL SCALE ROCKET ENGINE. THE WORK PLAN INCLUDES TASKS TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT A RUGGED PROTOTYPE HTV SYSTEM, INCLUDING SUPPORTING ANALYSES REQUIRED TO PROPERLY SELECT THE LASER, CAMERA, AND OPTICAL COMPONENTS, TEST THE PROTOTYPE IN A LABORATORY SCALE FLAME, AND PRODUCE ACOUSTIC SUPPRESSION COVERS AND DAMPING SYSTEMS TO ENABLE A DEMONSTRATION ON A LARGE ENGINE.