Equipment for the Spectral Characterization of High-Temperature Particles

The spectral radiant characteristics of plume particles of a solid rocket engine are important in the design of the engine specific impulse, ablative material, and plume flame hiding. These parameters are measured from tests of the engine. Some equipment has been established to realize particle heating, uniform particle distribution, and measurements based on an FTIR spectral instrument. The equipment is based on SiC heating and is divided into a warm-up chamber and a measurement chamber to improve the particle temperature stability. A special design of uniform particle distribution combined with an acoustic levitation device is used to determine the particle falling speed. The spectral characteristics and the transmission rate of the particles have been measured by using the system including a standard blackbody, an assembled optical system, and an FTIR spectrometer. The measurements of particle concentration and temperature are given in detail. The instrument specifications are as follows: temperature range – 60–1500 ◦C; spectral range – 0.60–25 μm; and particle dimension range – 10–500 μm.