High-Speed Laser Photography

Abstract

High-speed movies of solid propellant deflagration have long provided useful qualitative information on propellant behavior. Consequently, an extension of performance to include quantitative behavior of the surface, particularly the spacial relationship of particles across the surface, the temporal behavior of particle through extended periods of time, and accurate measurements of particle sizes, is highly desirable. Such measurements require the ability to take detailed movies across an extensive surface through the propellant flame for longer periods than the residence time of a given particle. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the camera optics and film will greatly affect performance. The MTF of the optics can be improved by a factor of two or more at practical spatial frequencies by the use of monochromatic light, such as the reflected light from a laser. The use of an intense, short-pulsed laser has the additional advantage of suppressing flame brightness and motion blur. High resolution at unity magnification is achieved by the use of 2 mJ of illumination energy per pulse in conjunction with a fine-grain film. The surfaces of the wide-distribution propellants were found to be molten. Keywords: Solid propellant rocket engines, Solid rocket propellants, Combustion chambers, Propellant grains, Combustion, Cinephotography.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA202293

Entities

People

  • Roger J. Becker

Organizations

  • University of Dayton

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cameras
  • Data Processing
  • Databases
  • Diffraction
  • Information Science
  • Light Sources
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials
  • Materials Processing
  • Optical Correlators
  • Optics
  • Photographic Materials
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Repetition Rate
  • Rocket Engines
  • Solid Propellants

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computer Vision.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Rocket Propulsion.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy