Particle-image velocimetry measurement in the exhaust of a solid rocket motor

Abstract

Successful particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements have been demonstrated in the exhaust plume of a small solid rocket motor. Background irradiance, high velocities reaching 630 m/s, temperatures exceeding 3000 K and lack of control over the seeding inside the plume make this flow field one of the more challenging environments for the application of the PIV technique. It is shown that the particulates ejected along with the exhaust gases are well suited as PIV marker particles, although nonuniform spatial distribution causes substantial loss of vectors. In the region investigated, the axial mean velocity profiles exhibit self-similarity despite the compressible, nonisothermal, multiphase nature of the flow.