Experimental characterization of ultraviolet radiation of air in a high enthalpy plasma torch facility

C.J. Casses (1) , P.J. Bertrand (1) , Carolyn Jacobs (2) , Megan E. Macdonald (1) , Christophe O. Laux (1)

1 EM2C - Laboratoire d'Énergétique Moléculaire et Macroscopique, Combustion
2 GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris

During atmospheric reentry, a plasma is formed ahead of the surface of the vehicle and the excited particle present in the plasma produces ra-diative heating §uxes to the surface of the vehicle. A high-temperature air plasma torch operating at atmospheric pressure was used to experimentally reproduce atmospheric reentry conditions. A high-resolution and absolute intensity emission spectrum (full width at half maximum (FWHM) = 0.064 nm) was obtained from 200 to 450 nm and then compared with computational results provided by the SPECAIR code [1]. This paper discusses the comparison of the two spectra over this wavelength range in order to con¦rm the validity of the calculation and provide direction to improve the calculated spectrum.

Domaines: Plasmas

C.J. Casses, P.J. Bertrand, Carolyn Jacobs, Megan E. Macdonald, Christophe O. Laux. Experimental characterization of ultraviolet radiation of air in a high enthalpy plasma torch facility. EUCASS 2013 5th European Conference for Aeronautics and Space Sciences, Jul 2013, Munich, Germany. pp.353 - 368, ⟨10.1051/eucass/201507353⟩. ⟨hal-01216109⟩