Experimental investigation of flow in nozzles of gas-dynamic lasers

To produce an active medium in a gas-dynamic laser, it is necessary to ensure rapid and deep cooling of a mixture of gases (usually CO₂-N₂-H₂O). For this, one uses, as a rule, flat supersonic nozzles with a corner point that are designed for obtaining a flow with Mach number M=4.5–6. The requirements on their dimensions and profile are determined by the kinetics of the relaxation processes in the expanding gas stream and the need to obtain at the exit a sufficiently uniform field of the gas-dynamic parameters. Because of the complexity of making nozzles, one frequently uses simplified shapes, which generate shock waves in the resonator cavity. This increases the divergence of the laser beam and reduces the population inversion of the vibrational levels of the CO₂ molecule [1] because of the growth of the temperature and the density behind shock waves. Therefore, for the correct interpretation of the results of measurements of the gain of a weak signal and correct comparison with calculations, it is necessary to make a combined study of the inversion properties of the flow and the aerodynamics of the flow. In the present work, we have investigated the flow structure in a number of small flat nozzles. Data on measurements of in a gas-dynamic laser using these nozzles are given in [2].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 178–182, September–October, 1980.     

Investigation of the inverted medium of a quasi-stationary CO2 laser with pulsed excitation

The results of an investigation of the inverted medium of a quasi-stationary CO₂ laser is presented. The medium is distinguished by the fact that the time of flight of individual molecules through the discharge gaps is less than the relaxation time of the 00 °1 CO₂ laser level. The emitted power, the gain, the saturation intensity, and the gas temperature are measured. Using the experimental data, the distribution of the molecules in the vibrational and rotational states of the inverted medium is calculated. The maximum power density attained in this experimental model is 25 W/cm³. For comparison, the characteristics of a model in which cold CO₂ is added to the flow of excited nitrogen are investigated. It is shown that in this case the output power level is determined by the efficiency with which the jets are mixed.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 23–29, January–February, 1973.The authors thank V. M. Fedorov for useful discussions and A. A. Borynyak for his help with the experiments.     

Inverted population of Co2 molecules in expanding gas streams

The system of equations of hydrodynamics, which describes the process of escape of the mixtures CO₂ + N₂ + He, H₂O from a nozzle, is solved numerically in conjunction with the equations of the kinetics of the excitation of the vibrational degrees of freedom of the molecules. It is found that an inverted population of the CO₂ molecules with respect to the transition [00 °1] – [10 °0], is produced under certain conditions at the exit from the nozzle. The magnitude of the inversion depends both on the nozzle configuration and on the initial values of the gas temperature and pressure. It is shown that for a specified nozzle configuration there exist optimal values of these parameters, at which the inverted population of the CO₂ molecules reaches approximately 10¹⁵ cm^–3.Translated from Zhumal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 24–34, September–October, 1971.     

Determination of optimum nozzle parameters in a gasdynamic laser

In connection with the use of supersonic nozzles to create lasers, the question arises of the optimum parameters of the nozzle and the gas mixture from the aspect of obtaining the greatest population inversion of the energy levels of internal degrees of freedom of molecules of the working gas and the greatest output power of the lasers. A rather complete concept of the kinetic processes taking place during the escape of a relaxing gas mixture containing carbon dioxide through a supersonic nozzle has now been developed on the basis of calculated and experimental data. In [1–4] the problems of optimization of the parameters of a CO₂-N₂-H₂O-He mixture and of the shape of the nozzle were set up and solved in a one-dimensional steady-state formulation. The influence of the two-dimensionality of the stream in an optimum nozzle on the laser characteristics is studied in the present report. The method of through calculation suggested in [5] is used to calculate the two-dimensional flow of a relaxing gas.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 23–26, September–October, 1978.     

Kinetic equations for vibrational relaxation in a mixture of polyatomic gases

Kinetic equations are derived for the relaxation of the vibrational energy in a mixture of polyatomic gases, which are ones with molecules simulated by harmonic oscillators. The most general case is envisaged, where the energy relaxation occurs not only via vibrational-translational transitions but also via multiquantum vibrational exchange involving an arbitrary number of vibrational modes. The analysis also incorporates the possible degeneracy of each mode when the molecules colliding are the same. An expression is derived that extends previous results [1–6] and that relates the vibrational temperatures in the case of quasiequilibrium. Equations are derived for the vibrational relaxation for the CO₂-N₂ case.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 29–37, November–December, 1972.We are indebted to L. A. Shelepin for valuable discussions on the results.     

Nonequilibrium hypersonic flow of carbon dioxide gas over blunt bodies

The Navier-Stokes equations are used to investigate hypersonic flow of carbon dioxide gas over blunt bodies with allowance for nonequilibrium development of chemical reactions and vibrational relaxation of the CO₂ molecules. The problem is solved by the method of stabilization by means of an implicit difference scheme that includes the use of Newton's iterative process. The results are given of calculations of the flow field, the convective heat flux, and the frictional stresses on the surface of blunt cones with spherical noses. The influence of admixtures on the flow field and the heat fluxes is investigated. The results of the calculations are compared with the locally self-similar solution for the neighborhood of the front stagnation point.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 199–202, September–October, 1979.     

Theory of two-component gasdynamic laser

In the present paper a numerical calculation is made of the vibrational relaxation of a binary mixture of molecular nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas. The calculation is performed for the entire range of variation of the concentrations of the components and over a wide range of mixture temperatures and pressures for various geometries of the supersonic part of the nozzle (throat dimensions, degree of expansion). It is shown that population inversion of the CO₂ molecules exists within a certain range of variation of the parameters of the mixture and the nozzle. The population inversion of the vibrational levels and the gain of the gaseous mixture are calculated as functions of these parameters and of distance measured from the critical cross section of the nozzle. The energy characteristics of the two-component gasdynamic laser are optimized.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 23–30, May–June, 1974.     

Turbulent mixing of relaxing gases in a supersonic nozzle

Processes of turbulent mixing of hot nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) in a supersonic nozzle are investigated in connection with gasdynamic lasers with selective thermal excitation. The actual flow pattern in the nozzle and cavity is simulated by the system of equations of a turbulent boundary layer. The results of calculations of the gain profile, the CO₂ concentration, and the laser power agree satisfactorily with experimental data.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 156–160, March–April, 1981.We are very grateful to B. S. Aleksandrov and V. K. Pozdyshev for numerous helpful discussions.     

Quasiequilibrium model of the kinetics of coupled modes of CO2 molecules

The correct allowance for the influence of anharmonicity in the vibrational spectrum of CO₂ on the level distribution of molecules under nonequilibrium conditions, when the vibrational temperature departs significantly from the gas temperature, has become especially urgent in connection with obtaining generation on a number of long-wavelength transitions of CO₂ molecules [1, 2]. The shifts in the levels of coupled modes (symmetric and deformation) are due mainly to Fermi resonance and can reach a considerable value, comparable with the gas temperature even for low levels. In [3] the main features of the quasisteady level distribution of coupled modes were clarified within the framework of the Treanor model of vibrational kinetics. The influence of the ascending flux of quanta, excited by VV exchange under nonequilibrium conditions, on the vibrational distribution was considered in [4–6]. In the present paper we propose a quasiequilibrium model of CO₂ kinetics, obtained without presuming quasisteadiness of the ascending flux of quanta, and making it possible, in contrast to [3–6] to describe the dynamics of the variation of the distribution of molecules among multiplets as a result of processes of VV exchange and VT relaxation between multiplets, with allowance for possible processes of pumping by outside sources. With a Boltzmann population distribution within the multiplets, having the translational temperature of the gas, the problem of studying relaxation in coupled modes is reduced to the equations for an effective anharmonic oscillator with levels corresponding to the multiplets of CO₂ molecules. In this case the levels of the effective oscillator are degenerate with a multiplicity equal to the number of levels in the corresponding multiplet, and they have an anharmonicity constant dependent on the gas temperature. The population distribution of the effective oscillator can be studied by methods developed for the investigation cf a one-mode anharmonic oscillator. The proposed quasiequilibrium model was used for a numerical calculations of the temporal evolution of the distribution function of CO₂ molecules over the levels of coupled modes under the conditions of an extremely maintained discharge.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 16–22, May–June, 1986.     

Influence of the initial spatially inhomogeneous temperature perturbations on vibrational relaxation dynamics

The vibrational relaxation of a nonequilibrium molecular gas (T_V>T) plays an important role in the physics of gas lasers, laser chemistry [1], and plasma chemistry [2]. This paper is devoted to an analysis of the dynamics of V-T relaxation with spatially inhomogeneous perturbations of the translational temperature taken into account.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Technicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 77–80, November–December, 1984.     

Laser diagnostics of molecular states in nonequilibrium gas flows

Laser diagnostics techniques are developed, and some typical results are presented on the vibrational CO₂ molecule level population measurements under highly nonequilibrium conditions for two types of flows: (i) in a conventional gasdynamic lasers and (ii) in a flow mixing gasdynamic laser. The measuring procedure is based on recording spectral gain coefficient distributions at several resolved rotational transitions of different vibrational bands. The laser optical system with spatial selection of single lines is described. The system allows fast (about 10^–5–10^–4 s) line tuning, thus providing a variable and arbitrary choice of the selected line sequences. The optimum choice of the laser generation spectrum is discussed, and the sources of measuring uncertainties are analyzed. Typical illustrations and results are given and discussed.     

Population inversion behind a detonation wave propagating in a variable-density medium

The creation of an active medium by means of detonation has been investigated on a number of occasions. It was suggested that one could use the expansion of the detonation products of an acetylene-air mixture in vacuum [1] or the cooling of the detonation products of a mixture of hydrocarbons and air through a nozzle [2, 3]. In [4], the detonation of a solid high explosive was used to produce population inversion in the gas mixture CO₂-N₂-He(H₂O). Stimulated emission from HF molecules was observed in [5] behind the front of an overdriven detonation wave propagating in an F₂-H₂-Ar mixture in a shock tube. Population inversion behind a detonation wave was studied in H₂-F₂-He mixtures in [6–8] and in H₂-Cl₂-He mixtures in [9] with energy release on a plane and on a straight line in a medium with constant density. Similar problems were solved for shock waves propagating in both a homogeneous gaseous medium [7, 10] and in the supersonic part of an expanding nozzle. In the present paper, we study theoretically population inversion behind an overdriven detonation wave propagating in a mixture (fine carbon particles + acetylene + air) which flows through a hypersonic nozzle. The propagation of detonation in media with variable density and initial velocity was considered, for example, in [11, 12]. Analysis of the gas parameters behind a detonation wave propagating in a medium with constant density (for a given fuel) showed that the temperature difference across the detonation front is insufficient to produce population inversion of the vibrational levels of the CO₂ molecule.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 65–71, January–February, 1980.I am grateful to V. P. Korobeinikov for a helpful discussion of the results.     

Comparison of different models for non-equilibrium CO2 flows in a shock layer near a blunt body

The paper presents results of a numerical simulation of a supersonic two-dimensional (2D) viscous flow containing CO₂ molecules near a spacecraft entering the Mars atmosphere. The gas–dynamic equations in the shock layer are coupled to the equations of non-equilibrium vibrational and chemical kinetics in the five-component mixture CO₂/CO/O₂/C/O. Transport and relaxation processes in the flow are studied on the basis of the rigorous kinetic theory methods; the developed transport algorithms are incorporated in the numerical scheme. The influence of the vibrational excitation of CO₂ and chemical reactions on the gas flow parameters and heat transfer is analyzed. The obtained results are compared with those found using two simplified models based on the two-temperature and one-temperature vibrational distributions in CO₂. The accuracy of the simplified models and the limits of their validity within the shock layer are evaluated. The effect of bulk viscosity in a flow near a re-entry body is discussed. The role of different diffusion processes, chemical reactions, and surface catalytic properties in a flow of the considered mixture in the shock layer is estimated.     

Effect of laser radiation on the vibrational distribution of CO2

In connection with progress in the field of CO₂ lasers, questions of the vibrational kinetics of molecules of CO₂ have been discussed in many communications. In a majority of cases of practical importance, the distribution of CO₂ is due to processes of vibrational exchange (V-V) on which is based the well-known thermodynamic model [1]. In other cases, the V-V exchange does not determine the vibrational distribution, since the perturbation is small; therefore, it is found sufficient to consider a small number of levels of CO₂ (usually three), whose populations satisfy the linear equations of the balance [2]. There is the possibility of conditions where the vibrations are strongly excited and, at the same time, V-V processes are insignificant (a very small CO₂ impurity in the inert gas, with a high degree of ionization). Then the number of equations becomes large. The present article discusses one such case: the excitation of a steady-state vibrational distribution in a glow discharge by laser radiation, whose solution is rather graphic.     

Amplification of the emission of a CO2 laser in the products of the reaction of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide

To produce laser-active gaseous media, and to investigate their characteristics, it is convenient to use expanding gasdynamic flows [1–4], and high-speed chemical reactions [5, 6]. The idea of a chemical-gasdynamic laser [7, 8], based on a combination of the chemical and gasdynamic methods of producing population inversion is of interest. In this paper we investigate the conditions under which population inversion of the vibrational levels of the CO₂ molecule can be produced in expanding flows of different gaseous mixtures containing CO₂, including the products of the reaction between NO and CO with the addition of a small amount of hydrogen, and when the initial mixture is diluted with nitrogen or argon. The effect of the composition of the initial mixture and the temperature in front of the nozzle on the gain of the coherent emission at a wavelength of 10.6 μm in the working cross section of the flow is investigated.     

Formation of inversion in jet of CO2-H2O-N2 gas mixture expanding through a slot

A calculation is made of the kinetics of vibrational relaxation of CO₂ molecules in a CO₂ -H₂O-N₂ mixture escaping into a vacuum from a slot. The examination of vibrational relaxation led to a solution of the kinetic equations corresponding to the most important channels of energy exchange in vibration-vibration and vibration-translation processes. It proved possible to consider the dynamics of a nonequilibrium gas in an approximation of the adiabatic motion of a medium with an effective adiabatic index corresponding to a certain degree of freezing in of the vibrational component of the heat capacity of the gas. The calculated values of the gain index agree well with experimental data. The gain index was calculated with allowance for Doppler and Lorentz mechanisms of line broadening. The results of the calculation were analyzed.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 25–31, November–December, 1973.The authors thank A. S. Biryukov and N. N. Sobolev for advice and comments and É. A. Ashratov and G. K. Bunin for conducting the gasdynamical calculation on an electronic computer.     

Influence of vibration-dissociation coupling on heat transfer and hypersonic drag

A numerical investigation is carried out within the framework of the multicomponent total viscous shock layer model [6, 7], according to which when Re 100 the flow near a blunt body can be divided into a shock wave zone and a viscous shock layer. At the inner edge of the shock wave the generalized Rankine-Hugoniot relations are imposed, and in the shock layer the complete system of viscous shock layer equations is solved with allowance for vibrational relaxation and nonequilibrium dissociation and ionization reactions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 141–151, May–June, 1990.     

An experimental study of gasdynamic windows for gas lasers

The working pressure in the cavities of most gas lasers varies from 30 to 100 torr. Thus, in transmitting the laser light into the atmosphere, the problem arises of isolating the cavity from atmospheric pressure. In low-power lasers (N l kW/cm², where N is the laser output power) optical windows of monocrystalline NaC1 (CO₂ laser), CaF₂ (CO laser), and so on, are used for this purpose [1], The absorption coefficient for radiant energy of such optical windows averages 0.02–0.2%; thus, at cw laser powers of order 3 kW/cm² or more it is difficult to send the beam out through monocrystalline windows because they are heated excessively due to absorption of radiation and, consequently, broken. In this casa so-called gasdynamic windows (shutters) with transverse gas pump-through [2] or ejector-type gasdynamic windows, which ensure the required pressure difference and tolerable return flows of gas between the laser cavity and the surrounding medium, are used in place of monocrystalline windows. Here we shall describe the design of gasdynamic windows, their characteristics, and operating regimes, and we shall present data from experimental studies of the operation of gasdynamic windows with transverse gas pumpthrough over a wide range of variation of the window size and gas-flow parameters.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 192–196, March–April, 1977.In conclusion, we thank Kh. M. Faizulin, V. M. Abramov, S. A. Danilushkin, B. Ya. Lyubimov, and L. V. Bol'shov for help in doing the experiments and for useful discussions.     

Numerical investigation of the propagation of a pulse of radiation with λ=10.6 μm through absorbing media

The passage of electromagnetic radiation through gaseous media is of special interest when reasonantly absorbing impurities are present in the gas. The interaction of radiation with such a medium can lead, for example, to a temporal decrease of the gas temperature or to its strong heating [1-3]. At the same time the index of refraction in the channel of the light beam is altered, which leads to a deviation of the light rays from the initial direction. The main characteristics of such thermal selfaction within the framework of linear absorption theory for steady and nonsteady processes have been discussed in [4-12]. Nonequilibrium processes in the medium upon absorption of resonant radiation were not taken into account. The effect of the kinetics of vibrational energy exchange on the state of a medium upon the propagation of radiation through a mixture of CO₂ and N₂ gases was first considered in [2, 13, 14]. However, the simplest models of vibrational energy exchange were used, and saturation of the absorbing transition P20 [10°0 00°1] in the CO₂ molecule was not taken into account. Thus linearized equations of vibrational kinetics were used in [13], and only one channel of relaxation of asymmetric vibrations of CO₂ and excited nitrogen was considered in [14]. The propagation of a pulse of radiation with =10.6 m through an absorbing medium is investigated and the influence of the saturation effect and nonlinear processes of vibrational energy exchange on the self-action of light beams of Gaussian profile is studied in this paper.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 14–19, May–June, 1984.     

Optimization of the parameters of a CO2 gasdynamic laser

In order to maximize the gain coefficient of a CO₂-N₂-He gasdynamic laser, a total optimization of the stagnation parameters, the concentration coefficient, and the parameters which determine the shape of the nozzle (assuming a quasi-one-dimensional flow model) was carried out. The dependence of the optimized parameters on the limitations imposed by the stagnation temperature of the flow and the critical cross section have been determined.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 3–8, September–October, 1974.