Y. Okada et al., MEASUREMENT OF CONDENSATION ONSET IN STEADY SUPERSONIC LAVAL NOZZLE-FLOW FOR THE MOLECULAR LASER ISOTOPE-SEPARATION PROCESS, Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 35(2), 1998, pp. 158-162
A method based on laser light scattering is presented for the observat
ion of the condensation of working molecules in a steady-state-flow su
personic Laval nozzle operating in a closed loop. The distribution of
scattered light from droplets formed by condensation along the flow di
rection is measured from photographs to determine the point of condens
ation onset. The temperature and density at the onset point are obtain
ed from the values of static pressure based on the equations of isentr
opic flow.