Fundamentally, a plasma wind tunnel is a diagnostic tool to predict the performance of material under atmospheric re-entry conditions. The performance of the plasma wind tunnel is based on the ability to measure the plasma conditions and effect on the test sample. This information can then be used to feed a numerical modeling to predict the performance of material under re-entry conditions on a larger sample or different conditions.
A unique, fully automated displacement system operates under vacuum conditions and offers advanced testing capabilities:
Type K thermocouples that allow fast temperature measurements are provided to a high-speed data acquisition system. A high-speed temperature monitoring is performed on the test sample.
This technique allows the measurement of the following parameter from the plasma:
Depending on the application, Tekna can provide either slug calorimeter, gardon heat flux, or Null probe to measure heat flux.
The surface temperature of the test sample can be measured with an IR camera under test conditions through the optical window of the vacuum chamber. This camera is used for ablative and surface temperature measurement near IR region.
Tekna offers a highly accurate digital pyrometer for non-contact temperature measurements.
The measurement of the velocity of the inflight particles is key for characterization of erosion testing conditions. In collaboration with experienced international scientists, Tekna adapted and developed a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement technique for low temperature particles inside a plasma flame.
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