Real Time Gas Flow Control and Analysis for High Power Infrared Gas Lasers

Abstract

The composition of various gas effluents and their flow parameters viz. flow rate, pressure and Mach number are very crucial in determining the output of high power infrared gas lasers. PC based real time gas Flow Control and Analysis (FCA) System which is the heart of the high power infrared gas lasers such as CO2 Gas Dynamic Laser (10.6μm), Hydrogen Fluoride-Deuterium Fluoride (2.7–3.4μm) and Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (1.315μm) has been developed and successfully tested for its applications in Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL). The system has been realized using the state of the art PCI bus based high-speed data processing electronics, a personal computer and electro-pneumatic components. The system has demonstrated its capability of controlling the flow rates in the range of 1-6500 lpm (in case of nitrogen) with a response time of 50 msec which is mainly limited by the response of the electro-pneumatic valves and pressure reducers used in the present system. The developed system also has the potential to monitor, estimate and display various flow parameters at critical locations of the laser system. More than 600 successful power runs of the COIL have been given using the developed FCA system.