Contaminants in a gasdynamic mixing laser
Abstract
The effect of some contaminating additives such as O2, NO, CO, SO2, and H2 on small signal gain and laser power of a small-scale gasdynamic mixing laser (GDML) was studied experimentally and is described. A GDML requires hot N2, and in some cases combustion might be the preferred technique for producing the hot N2. However, a combustion process would yield products in addition to N2, and these products might have adverse effects on molecular kinetics in the GDML. The study shows that a combustion-driven GDML will maintain its high specific energy as long as the concentration of the contaminants (especially SO2, H2, and H2O) does not exceed a few percent of the N2 flow.
- Publication:
-
AIAA Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 1977
- DOI:
- 10.2514/3.7453
- Bibcode:
- 1977AIAAJ..15.1527H
- Keywords:
-
- Combustion Products;
- Contaminants;
- Gas Composition;
- Gasdynamic Lasers;
- Carbon Dioxide;
- Hydrogen;
- Nitrogen;
- Stagnation Temperature;
- Sulfur Dioxides;
- Thermochemistry;
- Lasers and Masers