In order to provide the information necessary to develop a rocket engine ground test failure detection monitor which keys on anomalous activity in the plume, a series of experimental observations were made during single engine Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) tests. The observations were conducted from the 220 nm wavelength in the ultraviolet out to the 15 micron wavelength in the infrared. Four types of instruments were employed including analog autoranging narrow band radiometers, optical multichannel analyzers, mechanical scanning and film plate spectrometers, and imaging cameras. Some results included: strong OH radiation in the UV up to vibrational transition state four; Na and K radiation lines in all phases of engine operation; reaction of some of the instruments to minor engine anomalies; good shock structure imaging; striations in the flow in the 310 nm OH band; and detection of gross changes in engine operating state such as start or shutdown.
Space shuttle main engine plume spectral monitoring preliminary results
Rauchfahnenspektralueberwachung bei dem Raumfaehrenhaupttriebwerk - Vorlaeufige Ergebnisse
AIAA-Papers ; Jul ; 1-13
1987
13 Seiten, 32 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 2 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Space Shuttle Main Engine Health Monitoring with Exhaust Plume Emission Spectroscopy
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