On the elimination of DC in reconstructed wavefronts from in-line holograms

New experimental results to demonstrate that the annoying DC in the reconstructed wavefronts from in-line holograms could be successfully eliminated are presented in this paper. The complete elimination of DC has been achieved by making proper use of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The results for an in-line hololens and an in-line Fourier transform hologram are discussed.

On the elimination of DC in reconstructed wavefronts from in-line holograms

New experimental results to demonstrate that the annoying DC in the reconstructed wavefronts from in-line holograms could be successfully eliminated are presented in this paper. The complete elimination of DC has been achieved by making proper use of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The results for an in-line hololens and an in-line Fourier transform hologram are discussed.

A novel interrogation system for fiber Bragg grating sensor array

Interrogation techniques for fiber Bragg grating sensor arrays need particular attention in the case of structural health monitoring applications involving dynamic strain measurement. Typically the performance of the sensing system is dependent on both the sensor type and the interrogation method employed. A novel interrogation system is proposed here that consists of different interrogation units for each sensor in the array, each unit comprising of a circulator, chirped grating and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. We present an analysis that consists of tracking the spectral changes as the light passes through various elements in the interrogation system. This is expected to help in the optimization of sensor and interrogation elements leading to improved performance of the health monitoring system.

In-situ measurements of concentration and temperature during transient solidification of aqueous solution of ammonium chloride using laser interferometry

The variation in temperature and concentration plays a crucial role in predicting the final microstructure during solidification of a binary alloy. Most of the experimental techniques used to measure concentration and temperature are intrusive in nature and affect the flow field. In this paper, the main focus is laid on in-situ, non-intrusive, transient measurement of concentration and temperature during the solidification of a binary mixture of aqueous ammonium chloride solution (a metal-analog system) in a top cooled cavity using laser based Mach-Zehnder Interferometric technique. It was found from the interferogram, that the angular deviation of fringe pattern and the total number of fringes exhibit significant sensitivity to refractive index and hence are functions of the local temperature and concentration of the NH4Cl solution inside the cavity. Using the fringe characteristics, calibration curves were established for the range of temperature and concentration levels expected during the solidification process. In the actual solidification experiment, two hypoeutectic solutions (5% and 15% NH4Cl) were chosen. The calibration curves were used to determine the temperature and concentration of the solution inside the cavity during solidification of 5% and 15% NH4Cl solution at different instants of time. The measurement was carried out at a fixed point in the cavity, and the concentration variation with time was recorded as the solid-liquid interface approached the measurement point. The measurement exhibited distinct zones of concentration distribution caused by solute rejection and Rayleigh Benard convection. Further studies involving flow visualization with laser scattering confirmed the Rayleigh Benard convection. Computational modeling was also performed, which corroborated the experimental findings. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Missile-Shaped Body with Forward-Facing Cavity at Mach 8

A blunt-nosed hypersonic missile mounted with a forward-facing cavity is a good alternative to reduce the stagnation heating rates. The effects of a forward-racing cavity on heat transfer and aerodynamic coefficients are addressed in this paper. Tests were carried out in hypersonic shock tunnel HST2, at a hypersonic Mach number of 8 using a 41 deg apex-angle blunt cone. The aerodynamic forces on the test model with and without a forward-facing cavity at various angles of attack are measured by using an internally mountable accelerometer force balance system. Heat flux measurements have been carried out on the test model with and without a forward-facing cavity of the entire surface at zero degree angle of attack with platinum sensors. A numerical simulation was also carried out using the computational fluid dynamics code (CFX-Ansys 5.7). An important result of this study is that the smaller cavity diameter has the highest lift-to-drag ratio, whereas the medium cavity has the highest heat flux reduction. Theshock structure around the test model has also been visualized using the Schlieren flow visualization technique. The visualized shock structure and the measured aerodynamic forces on the missile-shaped body with cavity configurations agree well with the axisymmetric numerical simulations.

Film cooling at hypersonic Mach numbers using forward facing array of micro-jets

Experimental investigations are carried out in the IISc hypersonic shock tunnel on film cooling effectiveness of a single jet (diameter 2 mm and 0.9 mm), and an array forward facing of micro-jets (diameter 300 mu m each) of same effective area (corresponding to the respective single jet). The single jet and the corresponding micro-jets are injected from the stagnation zone of a blunt cone model (58, apex angle and nose radius of 35 mm). Nitrogen and Helium are injected as coolant gases. Experiments are performed at freestream Mach number 5.9, at 0 degrees angle of attack, with a stagnation enthalpy of 1.84 MJ/kg, with and without injections. The ratios of the jet stagnation pressure to the freestream pitot pressure used in the present study are 1.2 and 1.45. Up to 50% reduction in surface heat transfer rate was observed with the array of micro-jets, compared to that of the respective single jet with nitrogen as the coolant, while the corresponding eduction was up to 37% for helium injection, with the schlieren flow visualizations showing no major change in the shock standoff distance, and thus no major changes in other aerodynamic aspects such as drag.

Experimental investigation of cowl shape and location on inlet characteristics at hypersonic Mach number

An experimental study is presented to show the effect of the cowl location and shape on the shock interaction phenomena in the inlet region for a 2D, planar scramjet inlet model. Investigations include schlieren visualization around the cowl region and heat transfer rate measurement inside the inlet chamber.Both regular and Mach reflections are observed when the forebody ramp shock reflects from the cowl plate. Mach stem heights of 3.3 mm and 4.1 mm are measured in 18.5 mm and 22.7 mm high inlet chambers respecively. Increased heat transfer rate is measured at the same location of chamber for cowls of longer lenghs is indicating additional mass flow recovery by the inlet.

Shock tunnel testing of a Mach 6 hypersonic waverider

A waverider is a lifting body configuration whose upper surface is parallel to the free stream, and the lower surface aerodynamically so designed, that the resulting shock at the design Mach number, is always attached with the leading edge of the vehicle. This prevents spillage from high pressure (lower) surface to the low pressure (upper) surface.In the present study a conical waverider has been designed, fabricated and tested at Mach 6 in the IISc hypersonic shock tunnel HST2. The measurements show that the waverider has a lift to drag ratio of 4.28 at the designed Mach number. Exhaustive FEM and CFD studies are also carried out to complement the force measurements in the tunnel.

Measurement of shock stand-off distance on a 120 degrees blunt cone model at hypersonic Mach number in Argon

The flow around a 120 degrees blunt cone model with a base radius of 60mm has been visualised at Mach 14.8 and 9.1 using argon as the test gas, at the newly established high speed schlieren facility in the IISc hypersonic shock tunnel HST2. The experimental shock stand off distance around the blunt cone is compared with that obtained using a commercial CFD package. The computed values of shock stand off distance of the blunt cone is found to agree reasonably well with the experimental data.

Schlieren visualization of shock wave phenomena over a missile-shaped body at hypersonic Mach numbers

The flow over a missile-shaped configuration is investigated by means of Schlieren visualization in short-duration facility producing free stream Mach numbers of 5.75 and 8. This visualization technique is demonstrated with a 41 degrees full apex angle blunt cone missile-shaped body mounted with and without cavity. Experiments are carried out with air as the test gas to visualize the flow field. The experimental results show a strong intensity variation in the deflection of light in a flow field, due to the flow compressibility. Shock stand-off distance measured with the Schlieren method is in good agreement with theory and computational fluid dynamic study for both the configurations. Magnitude of the shock oscillation for a cavity model may be greater than the case of a model without cavity. The picture of visualization shows that there is an outgoing and incoming flow closer to the cavity. Cavity flow oscillation was found to subside to steady flow with a decrease in the free stream Mach number.

Injection cooling of blunt bodies flying at high Mach numbers

A study of transpiration cooling of blunt bodies such as a hemicylinder is made by solving Navier-Stokes equations. An upwind, implicit time-marching code is developed for this purpose. The study is conducted for both perfect-gas and real-gas (chemical equilibrium) flows. Investigations are carried out for a special wall condition that is referred to as no heat flow into the wall condition. The effects of air injection on wall temperature are analyzed. Analyses are carried out for Mach numbers ranging between 6-10 and Reynolds numbers ranging between 10(6)-10(7). Studies are made for spatially constant as well as spatially varying mass injection rate distributions, White cold air injection reduces the wall temperature substantially, transpiration cooling is relatively less effective when the gas is in chemical equilibrium.