An Experimental Study of Pressure Distribution on the Inner Surface of a Parabolic Nozzle in Laser Propulsion
C-Y. Cui, Y-J. Hong, N-N. Ma and J-L. Song
A system based on dynamic pressure sensors is established to study time resolved pressures on the inner wall of a parabolic nozzle in laser propulsion. Dynamic calibration and static calibration of the test system were completed. The results show that the frequency response is up to 412 kHz, and the linear error is less than 10%. Three test points were preset along one axial line along the parabolic nozzle. Test results agree well with trends obtained by numerical calculation. The peak value of the calculation was higher than that of the experiment at each tested orifice because of the limitation of the numerical models. Multi-pulse testing was also done at a frequency of 20 Hz. Most characteristics of the pressure curves of all the pulses were the same as those obtained in the single pulse test. The start time varied with the order of the pulses. The results of this study are valuable for analysing energy deposition in laser propulsion and modifying numerical models.
Keywords: Laser propulsion, pressure distribution, parabolic nozzle, single pulse, multi-pulse)