Seeding-free, non-intrusive aero-engine distortion measurements

One of the most important challenges in designing experiments is ensuring that you are not altering the phenomena you would like to measure with your measurement method. The evaluation of air flows in aeroengine inlets is currently performed using invasive methods. Alternative non-invasive ones require seeding particles to observe flow distortions, and these particles can interfere with engine operation. The EU-funded SINATRA project is developing an innovative, laser-based, non-intrusive, seed-free way to test inlet flow distortion with high spatial and temporal resolution, thus facilitating the streamlined and accurate testing of next-generation aircraft designs.