Evaluation of real-gas phenomena in high-enthalpy aerothermal test facilities: A review

The methods of making more accurate measurements in arcjet wind tunnels in the real-gas regime than have been achieved up to the present time are explored by reviewing, comparing, and interpreting the existing experimental methodologies and obtained data. The inaccuracies of the conventional method of determining enthalpy and now uniformity are first pointed out, The extent and consequences of flow contamination by copper vapor are next examined, Then the data obtained through spectroscopic determination of flow enthalpies, Doppler velocimetry using laser-induced fluorescence, and species concentration determination using mass spectrometry are reviewed, The discrepancies between the measured and calculated flow velocities and species concentrations are pointed out and a possible explanation is given.