Laser Diagnostics, Remote Sensing and Propagation

We create advanced approaches to measurement and develop models for

1. prediction of laser propagation through the atmosphere and ionized environments;
2. understanding of hypersonic flow physics and combustion mechanisms;
3. remote detection of atmospheric properties, pollution, electric and magnetic fields, and hazardous gasses;
4. characterization of low temperature plasmas; and
5. time-accurate following of rapidly evolving environments that are not in thermal equilibrium.

Research involves laser technology development, computational modeling, spectroscopy, linear and nonlinear optics, and quantum-based sensor systems applied to the study of plasmas, combustion, the atmosphere, and complex fluid dynamic environments.

The ALLEMO is located next to the National Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics Laboratory (NAL) to rapidly implement new diagnostics funded by the Chancellor's Research Initiative with matching funds from the Texas Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI). Research conducted at the ALLEMO focuses on new diagnostic capabilities for hypersonics and combustion, aerodynamic control, and stand-off detection of hazardous gases and atmospheric properties. The facility includes a LIDAR lab with an observatory dome, an ultrafast nonlinear optics lab, a diagnostics development laboratory and a 120-foot lab with a subscale atmospheric facility.

Faculty supervisor: Richard Miles
Website: allemo.engr.tamu.edu

Ballistic, Aero-optics, and Materials (BAM) Range at the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex will be a large-scale, fully enclosed multi-disciplinary research and development facility capable of evaluating high-energy laser propagation, hypersonic aerothermodynamics, and hypervelocity impact response of materials and structures. This is accomplished within a fully characterized test channel that can achieve controllable atmospheric conditions. Once completed, the BAM Range will be the largest and most fully instrumented facility of its kind in the United States.

Faculty supervisor: Nathan Tichenor

Website: bcdc.tamus.edu/facilities/bam

The lab is a graduate research facility dedicated to the study of high-speed combustion for propulsion applications. Laser diagnostics like spontaneous Raman, Rayleigh scattering, and Laser-Induced Fluorescence are used to study the fundamentals of supersonic flows with or without reactions. The lab is one of the few facilities worldwide capable of producing multiscalar measurements in supersonic flames; the pressure, temperature, density and major species concentrations (i.e., the full thermochemistry) of a supersonic flow can be characterized using the techniques developed here. Reduced-chemistry CFD and detailed-chemistry calculations are also used to complement the experimental effort. High-energy Nd:YAG and dye lasers, and a host of high technology detectors, from high-fidelity scientific CCD and EMCCD to high-speed cameras, intensified systems and long-wave infrared detectors form the core of the experimental facilities.

Faculty supervisor: Adonios Karpetis

Research conducted in the Plasma Simulation Laboratory is focused on modeling of plasma influence on ignition, combustion and turbulent flows. Main problems we are working on include: controllable ignition by plasma discharges; combustion processes control and stabilization by plasma; deflagration to detonation transition control by plasma; laser and microwave discharge dynamics; flow control by plasma discharges; and nanosecond pulsed discharge igniters.

Faculty supervisor: Albina Tropina

Website: mpaic.engr.tamu.edu

The TACL conducts research on fundamental understanding of turbulent flows and turbulent mixing using state-of-the-art simulations at massive scales. While turbulence is the most common state of fluid motion in natural and engineering systems, its complexity has made the topic extraordinarily difficult. At TACL we develop and use the most advanced computational tools on the largest supercomputers available combined with theory and analysis to understand a number of aspects of turbulent flows. Some of the current interest include turbulent simulations at extreme scales, universality of turbulent flows, intermittency and anomalous scaling, turbulence mixing at low and high Schmidt numbers, compressible turbulence, shock-turbulence interactions, and turbulence in thermal non-equilibrium.

Faculty supervisor: Diego Donzis

Website: tacl.tamu.edu