Hyper-spectral imaging of aircraft exhaust plumes

An imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer has been used to determine low spatial resolution temperature and chemical species concentration distributions of aircraft jet engine exhaust plumes. An overview of the imaging Fourier transform spectrometer and the methodology of the project is presented. Results to date are shared and future work is discussed. Exhaust plume data from a Turbine Technologies, LTD, SR-30 turbojet engine at three engine settings was collected using a Telops Field-portable Imaging Radiometric Spectrometer Technology Mid-Wave Extended (FIRST-MWE). Although the plume exhibited high temporal frequency fluctuations, temporal averaging of hyper-spectral data-cubes produced steady-state distributions, which, when co-added and Fourier transformed, produced workable spectra. These spectra were then reduced using a simplified gaseous effluent model to fit forward-modeled spectra obtained from the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM) and the high-resolution transmission (HITRAN) molecular absorption database to determine approximate temperature and concentration distributions. It is theorized that further development of the physical model will produce better agreement between measured and modeled data.