Twenty-five years of aerodynamic research with infrared imaging

Abstract

A review is presented of the commercial introduction of IR imaging systems in the midsixties that has opened the possibilities to visualize viscous interactions between a body and the surrounding airflow by mapping the surface temperature distributions on configurations of interest. The capability of IR imaging systems to produce in real-time thermograms, which can be interpreted both locally and globally, makes them useful for heat transfer and skin-friction aerodynamic studies. Attention is given to IR systems and data processing, supersonic and hypersonic studies, Space Shuttle flight experiments, subsonic and transonic studies, and propulsion studies.