LAUSR

The interest in adaptive devices for high-speed applications leads to the need for an accurate and reliable technique to obtain model deformation measurements during experiments. Point-tracking photogrammetry has been applied to supersonic wind tunnel testing, using four Phantom high-speed cameras placed on either side of the working section, where coded targets were applied to the surface of interest. Calibration experiments on a solid plate beneath a $${M=1.4}$$M=1.4 normal shock and a $${M=2}$$M=2 oblique shock allowed the quantification of the sources of optical distortion, namely the wind tunnel glass windows and aerodynamic effects (the lower pressure in the working section and the interaction between shock waves and the boundary layer). A correction matrix was applied to account for the optical distortion due to the glass, and the root-mean-square error due to aerodynamic effects ($${<\,0.03}$$<0.03 mm) is believed to be negligible for applications with significant displacements (of the order of 1 mm). The application of photogrammetry to a flexible shock control bump has shown that the bump shape can be detected accurately, while disclosing some complex 3D effects that could not have been revealed by spanwise-averaged techniques such as schlieren photography.Graphical abstract3D reconstruction of an adaptive shock control bump from photogrammetry with the corresponding shadowgraph picture showing the $$\lambda$$λ-shock structure (dimensions in mm)