Experimental Verification of a Modified Cylindrical Focused Laser Differential Interferometer

Abstract

A modification to cylindrical focused laser differential interferometry (CFLDI) that, without beam intersection, can achieve smaller stand-off distances from flat geometries than conventional FLDI is presented. The modified system uses a cylindrical lens pair to expand and collimate the beam in a single direction, parallel to the model surface, forming a long, flat, elliptical profile. Subsequently, a spherical lens focuses the beam. Mach 7.3 hypersonic flow, produced by the T4 Stalker Reflected Shock Tunnel, was used for an experimental comparison between the responses of the modified CFLDI and a similar FLDI system in the freestream and just above the boundary-layer edge. Good agreement between the modified CFLDI and FLDI among all measured frequencies was observed when probing near the boundary-layer edge. The comparison in the freestream had good agreement up to 1500 kHz, and higher frequencies saw the modified CFLDI response attenuated at a shallower angle than the FLDI. A combination of different system parameters and base noise levels between the experiments is believed to account for this difference. The modified CFLDI system was used to probe inside the boundary layer, achieving a y/δ of approximately 0.4, where broadband turbulence is detected.