Single pulse laboratory experiments were carried out with a high‐power CO2 Transversely‐Exited Atmospheric (TEA) laser using parabolic laser propulsion (LP) engines of historic interest: 1) an original Pirri/ AERL bell engine, and 2) a scaled‐up 11‐cm diameter version with identical geometry. The objective was to quantify the effects of pulse duration upon the impulse coupling coefficient performance — with pulse energy as the parametric variable. Performance data from the TEA laser are contrasted with former results derived from AVCO Everett Research Laboratory and PLVTS CO2 electron discharge lasers (EDL). The ‘short‐pulse’ 2‐microsecond TEA laser tests generated results that were distinctively different from that of the ‘long‐pulse’ EDL sources. The TC‐300 TEA laser employed an unstable resonator to deliver up to 380 joules, and the square output beam measured 15‐cm on a side, with a hollow 8‐cm center. A standard ballistic pendulum was employed to measure the performance.
Experimental Investigation of Airbreathing Laser Propulsion Engines: CO2TEA vs. EDL
BEAMED ENERGY PROPULSION: Third International Symposium on Beamed Energy Propulsion ; 2004 ; Troy, New York (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 766 , 1 ; 155-165
2005-04-27
11 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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