Temperature characterization of a radiating gas layer using digital-single-lens-reflex-camera-based two-color ratio pyrometry.

The two-color ratio pyrometry technique using a digital single-lens reflex camera has been used to measure the time-averaged and path-integrated temperature distribution in the radiating shock layer in a high-enthalpy flow. A 70 mm diameter cylindrical body with a 70 mm long spike was placed in a hypersonic shock tunnel, and the region behind the shock layer was investigated. The systematic error due to contributions from line emissions was corrected by monitoring the emission spectrum from this region using a spectrometer. The relative contributions due to line emissions on R, G, and B channels of the camera were 7.4%, 2.2%, and 0.4%, respectively. The temperature contours obtained clearly distinguished regions of highest temperature. The maximum absolute temperature obtained in the experiment was ∼2920  K±55  K, which was 20% lower than the stagnation temperature. This lower value is expected due to line-of-sight integration, time averaging, and losses in the flow. Strategies to overcome these limitations are also suggested in the paper.