Laser Combustion Diagnostics

Schematic of the 5 kHz OF-PLIF laser system (Click to enlarge).

• Research focused on improving the understanding of chemical kinetics and transport processes in hypergolic propellant combustion.
• Application of advanced diagnostics in chemical kinetics, ignition, and flame spread experiments.
  • 5 kHz OH PLIF system to measure 2-D relative OH radical concentration during propellant combustion.
  • 3-D OH PLIF system to allow for OH radical measurement during transient three dimensional combustion events.

2.0 W, 5 kHz OH PLIF with 100 μm resolution
• Application to hypergolic liquid/gel droplet combustion and impinging jet experiment
• 500 Hz galvo mirror to sweep the laser sheet and gather 3-D OH PLIF data
• 3-D flame structure can be acquired at 1 ms time resolution

Schematic of 3D OH-PLIF system operation.

Jetting event of 6 wt.% HPC / MMH gel droplet in air at 1 atm, 400 μs interval between frames (Click to enlarge).

• Comparison of experimental OH radical profile data to computational droplet combustion results.
• First observation of local quenching due to jetting event in gelled droplet combustion.
• Characterization of jet interaction with flame front and measurement of jet speed and angle.
• Visualization of complex transient 3-D combustion events in a single plane at 5 kHz allowing for observation of previously distorted combustion events (droplet jetting, flame front disruption, etc.)

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA

Inquiries or comments, Dr. Timothée Pourpoint: timothee@purdue.edu