High speed measurements of velocity, temperature and water content in hypersonic flows

NASA is currently interested in improving the capabilities of its supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels to continue development of high speed aerospace vehicles, for both military and commercial applications. In order to develop these improved designs, inflow air conditions to the test articles need to be well characterized. For the particular tunnels that use combustion and vitiated air to generate the high speed flows, one can use the spectroscopic properties of water, arising from the combustion, to measure the static gas temperature and velocity, which leads to the mass capture ratio. Southwest Sciences proposes to design, build, test, calibrate and deliver a laser-based absorption, very high speed, mass capture analyzer. In this SBIR program, we will focus on the 8-foot diameter hypersonic tunnel noted in the Solicitation. Expanding on this design after Phase II, it would be capable of performing tomographic measurements of water vapor density, temperature and velocity a variety of wind tunnels. This sensor will be fully turnkey, autonomous, compact, and designed to operate in different wind tunnels with minimal modification. The Phase I research will focus on a single crossed beam channel with >10kHz response.

The initial direct market for the project technology is a mass capture sensor for NASA that would be capable of operating in a variety of hypersonic and supersonic wind tunnels without costly modifications when switching from one facility to another. Due to the nature of this sensor and its very high speed capabilities, it has a limited direct market. Another major potential user is the Department of Defense, where a larger number of studies and high speed wind tunnel facilities exist. This sensor, modified for oxygen operation, can be used in flight tests of rockets and engines. Simplified versions of this system could also be of interest to University researchers, where the analyzer would be modified for smaller diameter tunnels.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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