Nitric oxide molecular tagging velocimetry of a free-flight model in a reflected shock tunnel

Journal Article · 04 March 2025 · Optics Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/ol.557444 · OSTI ID:2530819

Jans, Elijah Rhea  ^[1]; Lynch, Kyle Patrick ^[1]; Daniel, Kyle Andreas ^[1]; Kearney, Sean Patrick ^[1]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Nitric oxide molecular tagging velocimetry (NO MTV) is used to characterize the wake behind a free-flight spherical model in the test section of a free-piston reflected shock tunnel using a burst-mode laser operated at 100 kHz. A novel (to our knowledge) multi-delay timing scheme was implemented to measure velocity in a varying collisional environment in the wake of the free-flight model. Four simultaneous velocity profiles were measured in the wake of the model from -600 to 3600 m/s for flow enthalpies of 10.3 and 12.0 MJ/kg. Finally, the measured velocity distributions show good agreement when compared to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 2530819
• Report Number(s): SAND--2025-02853J
• Journal Information: Optics Letters, Journal Name: Optics Letters Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 50; ISSN 0146-9592
• Publisher: Optical Society of America (OSA)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English