Simultaneous Velocimetry, Thermometry, and Chemical Species Measurements for High-Enthalpy Flows

NASA SBIR 2024 Phase I Solicitation A2.08 called for spatially and temporally resolved diagnostics for NASA high-speed wind tunnel flows (supersonic, hypersonic), both with and without combustion. Improved measurement capabilities are needed for velocity, temperature, density, and/or species concentrations in harsh wind tunnel environments, from short-duration (~msec) to long-duration (~min) flow facilities. Measurement systems should be reliable and robust and preferably would be able to be implemented in multiple wind tunnel facilities and facility types including blowdown tunnels, combustion-heated tunnels, shock tubes, shock tunnels, and arc jets. Planar or volumetric, spatially resolved measurements are preferred. The ability to measure multiple parameters simultaneously is desirable. Measurement systems should be validated against accepted standards (thermocouples, calibration flames, etc.) to determine measurement accuracy and precision. We propose a well-developed method of obtaining gas parameters velocity, temperature, and composition measurements with the possibility of extension to simultaneous pressure measurements in high-speed flows using laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) techniques. This will enable deployment of the method in large-scale ground test facilities, including short duration facilities with both reacting and non-reacting flows. We will leverage our current capabilities such as our absorption spectroscopy diagnostics systems with a demonstrated capability of 100+ kHz in situ temperature and species concentration measurements for gas temperatures 300 - 4000+ K and gas pressures 1 - 150 bar to facilitate the development of an improved sensor system that can achieve the needs of multiple NASA facilities.