Improvement of high-data-rate multi-dimensional, multi-parameter diagnostics will have wide application in NASA large ground test facilities. These test facilities play an integral role in the design, development, evaluation, and analysis of advanced aerospace technologies and vehicles. Cutting-edge optical diagnostics and modeling tools are proven to be instructive and will be the basis of such new developments in these fields. The advanced diagnostic toolkit developed under this SBIR project will be instrumental to fully investigate multiple flow parameters relevant to subsonic to hypersonic vehicles as well next generation airplane engines, and hence will be an invaluable asset to NASA and to the nation.
The advanced noninvasive diagnostic toolkit proposed under the current program will be a significant step forward in using cutting-edge laser technology to address a variety of diagnostics challenges in multiple government and industrial applications. A major beneficiary besides NASA would be DOD test facilities developing advanced systems such as aircraft engines. The increasing cost of fuels as well as the cost associated with offsetting pollutant emissions requires engine manufacturers to implement onboard nonconventional combustion strategies and diagnostics for existing systems as well as to develop improved engine designs. Being able to apply well-developed laser-based diagnostic tools in laboratory could be a game changer for commercial users and manufactures of engines. The impact areas may include aircraft engine manufacturers, stationary power plant operators and owners as well as automotive design engineers.
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