Some Amplification by Relaxation Processes in Nitrogen and Mixtures of Nitrogen with Helium and Hydrogen.

Abstract

Experimental investigation of the sound amplification by relaxation processes in vibrationally excited gases has been made. Experiments were conducted in pure nitrogen and mixtures of nitrogen with helium and hydrogen. The nitrogen was vibrationally excited by an electrical discharge. A sound pulse, propagated through the excited gas under study, was Fourier analyzed to determine the absorption and velocity as a function of time and frequency. A numerical solution developed by Shields 22 was used to calculate the absorption and velocity in unexcited gases. The observed and calculated absorption and velocity were then compared to determine the gain and temperature of the gas. In pure nitrogen and mixtures of nitrogen and helium, in which the vibrational relaxation time was much longer than the sound period, gain was not observed. Gain was observed in three cases: 50% He - 50% N2 at 40 Torr, 10% H2 - 90% N2 at 40 and 20 Torr. In the first two mixtures it was possible to observe the change in gain with time as the vibrational temperature decayed away. Originator supplied keywords include: Sacer, Vibrational relaxation, Nonequilibrium gases, Nitrogen, and Sound waves.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 27, 1985
Accession Number
ADA153620

Entities

People

  • D. Iskandar
  • F. Douglas Shields

Organizations

  • University of Mississippi

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Propagation
  • Acoustic Waves
  • Acoustics
  • Coefficients
  • Conduction (Heat Transfer)
  • Electronic Equipment
  • Energy Transfer
  • Equations
  • Frequency
  • Measurement
  • Metastable State
  • Physical Properties
  • Relaxation Time
  • Sound Waves
  • Specific Heat
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Thermal Diffusion

Fields of Study

  • Engineering
  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics