Comparison of calculated and measured radiation from a rocket motor plume

An underexpanded exhaust plume generated in a test-bed facility is studied experimentally. IR radiation associated with the plume has been measured by a calibrated IR camera and by a spectroradiometer. Narrow band UV qualitative images have been obtained. Numerical simulations of the exhaust plume have been conducted. The gas-dynamic and thermodynamic properties of the flow field were computed numerically. On the basis of the computed flow field, the IR/UV radiation was calculated. The IR plume radiation as well as the local and the space-integrated plume spectra were measured and compared with the numerical results. The simulated and experimental results agree well in the measured region.