Client
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Project Objectives
- Design and construct a pulsed laser sheet system to visualize the supersonic shear layer in the exhaust of a rocket engine
- The laser sheet system was used to measure the size of exhaust flow vortices and obtain qualitative information on vortex dynamics, mixing, and dissipation
Summary of Project and Results (Non-Confidential)
- Assembled and operated a pulsed copper vapor laser with a 25 nanosecond pulse duration for the light source
- Constructed the laser sheet optics and translation mechanism to slice the exhaust flow in various planes
- Built a particle injection system that utilized oxidized aluminum particles. The particles were 0.1 microns in size so that they would follow the thermal and fluid scales of interest. The laser light scattering from the particles visualized the flow.
- Assembled a video camera system that was triggered by a pulse from the laser to capture phase locked images
- Designed and built a system to capture the oxidized aluminum particles downstream of the exhaust. The small size of the particles could potentially cause pulmonary health problems.
Color Enhanced Laser Sheet Image of the Supersonic Exhaust Flow