The emission of light due to crystal fracture, or triboluminescence (TL), is a phenomenon that has been known for centuries. One of the most common examples of TL is the flash created from chewing wintergreen Lifesavers.. In concept, TL can be used as the catalyst for an impact sensing system. Preliminary tests using ZnS:Mn has shown that the intensity of the TL emission varies with impact energy. To evaluate TL for use as a damage sensor, instrumentation was developed for a two-stage hypervelocity gas gun located at the MSFC. The gun projectile collides with a phosphor-coated metal plate. An optical fiber connected to an exterior photomultiplier tube (PMT) was used to detect TL emission. The fiber was mounted in the direction of the motion facing the coated surface. This presentation will give an overview of the TL research using the hypervelocity gas gun at MSFC. These results will be used as a proof of concept for using TL as a viable impact sensor option.
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