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DIRECTED
ENERGY
PROFESSIONAL
SOCIETY
Abstract: 25-Symp-186
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UNCLASSIFIED, PUBLIC RELEASE
Experiments on laser-material interactions in the supersonic flow environment
We will present experimental results on the interaction of pulsed laser radiation with metal surfaces in supersonic air flow. Coupons of 6061 aluminum and 316 stainless steel have been installed on a flight model and irradiated by the pulses generated by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser source (1,064 nm wavelength, 6 ns pulse duration, 2 J of pulse energy in a 9 mm-diameter beam on the sample) in the single-shot regime. The model with the coupon is placed in the test section of the University of Arizona Indraft Supersonic Wind Tunnel (ISWT, Mach 4 air flow, Reynolds 4×10^6 m^-1). The primary focus of these experiments is on the studies of the disruption of the laminar flow around the target by the laser-generated plasma and ejecta. The effects are characterized by high-speed schlieren imaging and by an array of pressure transducers installed on the flight model downstream from the laser-affected area. The imaging data are currently being analyzed and compared with the data from the array of pressure transducers. The presentation will report on the results of this analysis and discuss plans for the follow-up research.
This work is supported by a grant from the US Joint Directed Energy Transition Office to the Center for Directed Energy at the University of Arizona (https://directed-energy.arizona.edu).
UNCLASSIFIED, PUBLIC RELEASE
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