Imaging Pyrometry of Laser-Heated Sapphire

摘要

A long-wave infrared camera was used in an imaging pyrometric mode to determine the spatially resolved outer surface temperature of sapphire samples heated with a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Tests were conducted by APL at the Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Sapphire disks were assessed first to demonstrate the CO2 laser heating technique and the capabilities of the infrared pyrometry system. Additional testing was conducted on sapphire domes that are candidates for infrared seeker windows. The laser heating profile presented (written) to each dome during testing simulated the aerothermal heating profiles that were observed in hypersonic wind tunnel tests conducted in APL's Advanced Technology Development Laboratory. Only sapphire disk test results are presented here, although both disk and dome testing protocols are discussed.