Infrared Thermography Technique Patent Granted Published Dec. 28, 2006 By HQ AFRL HQ AFRL WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Drs. Shichuan Ou and Richard B. Rivir, of AFRL's Propulsion Directorate, along with Dr. Srinath V. Ekkad, of Louisiana State University, earned a patent titled "Method of Infrared Thermography." The patent describes an invention that uses a high-resolution infrared thermography system to determine heat transfer coefficients and film effectiveness values from a single test. The newly patented method quickly and accurately provides film-cooled heat transfer coefficients and film effectiveness values from a single test, which reduces costs and alleviates the inaccuracies and uncertainties associated with conducting multiple tests. Furthermore, the method avoids the use of expensive thermographic liquid crystals for obtaining temperature values. Turbine engine designers routinely use film cooling to cool engine components in the hot-gas flowpath. Film cooling is the process of injecting coolant fluid at one or more discrete locations (holes or slots) along a surface exposed to a harsh, high-temperature environment. As high-performance turbine engine technologies advance, turbine inlet temperatures must increase in order to achieve higher thermal efficiency. These higher temperatures necessitate effective film cooling to protect the turbine components. The capability to obtain film-cooled heat transfer coefficients and film effectiveness values with a single test aids engine designers and eliminates the expense of running separate--but related--experiments to determine those values.