WAYS OF INCREASING THE SPECIFIC ENERGY CH ARACTERISTICS OF SELF-CONTAINED SUPERSONIC CW CHEMICAL HF LASERS

An experimental investigation was made of ways of increasing the speci fic energy characteristics of a self-contained supersonic cw chemical HF laser with a radial-expansion nozzle array 18 cm long. Optimisation of the chemical composition of the fuel (which was a F-2-D-2-He-H-2 m ixture) improved the energy characteristics by 10%-25% and made it pos sible to reach a specific output energy of 305 J g(-1). A 1.4-fold red uction in the size of the reactant mixing zone at the entry to the cav ity increased the specific power by 50% and its maximum value was 180 W cm(-2). Possible further improvements in the specific energy charact eristics are suggested.