PARTICLE SIZING LASER VELOCIMETER FOR ROCKET PLUME DIAGNOSTICS

A PARTICLE SIZING TECHNIQUE THAT OPERATES IN CONJUNCTION WITH LASER VELOCIMETRY IS PROPOSED. THE TECHNIQUE USES A NON-INTRUSIVE SINGLE PARTICLE COUNTER BASED ON A PULSE HEIGHT ANALYZER. PARTICLE SIZE IS MEASURED FROM THE PULSE HEIGHT AND VELOCITY FROM DOPPLER FREQUENCY. THE TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY TO MEASURE SPRAY DROPLETS BETWEEN 5 AND 300 UM. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL DEVELOP THE TECHNIQUE FOR PARTICLE MEASUREMENTS IN ROCKET PLUMES WHERE THE PARTICLE VELOCITIES ARE HIGH AND THE ENVIRONMENT NOISY. THE METHOD HAS KEY ADVANTAGES FOR THIS APPLICATION COMPARED TO OTHER METHODS, INCLUDING THE LASER DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY (LDV) VISIBILITY APPROACH.