Passive Hyperspectral Scope for Jet Engine Diagnosis

ABSTRACT: Single-point spectroscopic analysis of flame emission and blackbody radiation has been successfully used for jet engine diagnosis such as measuring temperature and specie concentration. An obvious need is to extend such a diagnostic mean to 2-D and 3-D scales. This SBIR project is aimed to develop a passive infrared imaging spectroscope suitable for jet engine diagnosis. Key features include multi-chamber enclosure for applicability to harsh environment (up to 4000F), electro-optical tunable filter for fast measurement (>1.0 kHz), large acceptant angle for near-distance imaging (>40 degree) and wide spectral range (workable range from 600nm to 6000nm). In phase I, we will physically build a prototype imaging spectroscope working at SWIR (900nm to 1700nm) and test it under temperature from 600F to 4000F. It is anticipated that the proposed scope can collect big portion of IR spectrum from large field. The developed instrument will perform spatially resolved measurements of temperature, species concentration, fuel/air ratios, and heat release of gas turbine combustion. BENEFIT: This device can be directly used for fire studies and combustion research, such as used for the development of military and commercial turbine and afterburner combustion processes and active control for flight systems. A significant application is precision thermograph for many high temperature processes in gas turbine engines, afterburner sections, internal combustion engines and boilers. They are also useful means for kilns, the steel and iron industries to monitor temperatures throughout the product making process. The proposed hyperspectral scope itself can be used for military surveillance, firefight department and homeland security.