DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM FOR ARC-DRIVEN HF/DF CHEMICAL LASERS

The article focuses on the development of a data acquisition system (DAS) working in a noisy and hostile environment for an arc-operated hydrogen fluoride/deuterium fluoride (HF/DF) chemical laser. PC-based DAS has been configured using Advantech plug and play modules with fiber link connectivity. This article also focuses on implementation of an orifice-based precise gas flow control system. The plasma arc discharge in an arc heater/generator is essentially employed for inducing thermal dissociation of sulfur hexafluoride SF₆ for production of fluorine atoms, and DAS has been used for performance optimization of the composition of the lasing mixture by independently varying the flow rate, pressure, and temperature of its constituents. Since arc load is complex with high voltage transients and electromagnetic noise, an optical fiber link has been implemented for data transmission. This article also discusses digital output interface circuitry for various electro-pneumatic actuators/solenoid valves. The developed DAS has been used for monitoring and performance evaluation of parameters for 50 kW arc tunnel.