Aeropropulsion Test Facility Diagnostics

Advanced diagnostic methods are required for characterization of high enthalpy test facilities including arc heated and propulsion test facilities. To date, reliable quantitative measurements of combustion efficiency, thrust, gas temperature, species concentrations and velocity in high-speed combustion flows and of temperature, velocity and flux in arc-heated high-speed flows have been difficult due to the large and rapid changes in pressure, temperature, and velocity. The proposed Phase-I effort will include the design, development and deployment of advanced tunable diode-laser sensors for temporally-resolved, non-intrusive, in situ measurements of gas temperature, velocity, and concentrations of several important species (including H2O, N, O) in a laboratory-scale combustion and high-temperature plasma facilities. The multi-parameter measurements will be combined for the determination of mass and momentum flux (thrust) and may be input into enthalpy and force balance calculations for a determination of combustion efficiency. The compact, rugged TDL absorption sensor components will be fiber-optically coupled for wavelength multiplexing, easy implementation, and simultaneous multi-parameter measurements at multiple locations. The Phase-II effort will involve development and delivery of multiple transportable sensor systems for measurements at HEAT H3 and APTU at Arnold Engineering Research Center propulsion research facilities.