Two-line planar fluorescence for temporally resolved temperature imaging in a reacting supersonic flow over a body

Abstract

An instantaneous temperature imaging technique for chemically reacting, supersonic flows over bodies is described and demonstrated in a H₂/O₂/Ar shock tube flow (M=1.3, 0.7 atm, 1760K freestream). Based on a planar fluorescence measurement, the approach uses a two-line rotational population ratio to infer temperature. The measured 2-d temperature profiles qualitatively match the expected flowfield structure around the blunt body, and the temperature increase across the bow shock in a single-shot measurement agrees within 5–10% of the prediction of a 1-d shock analysis. The significant systematic error sources for the technique are detailed, and the random error effects associated with shot-noise-limited fluorescence images are statistically analyzed to identify transitions which minimize the temperature errors for instantaneous and average measurements. Even for average temperature measurements, the analysis predicts errors which can be as large as 5–10% when noisy fluorescence images are used in conjunction with low temperature sensitivity. In general, temperature errors can be reduced by increasing sensitivity, i.e., the energy separation of the two rotational levels, until the fluorescence shot-noise rises to a value of 30–50% within the temperature range of interest.