Work

Particle imaging velocimetry for sooting flames with scattering suppression

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Light scattering from soot particles in hydrocarbon flames presents a significant source of background noise in particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. To mitigate this effect, the relative scattering intensities of 200 nm PIV seed particles and soot particles in a hydrocarbon-air flame were optimized for a 90∘ viewing angle. A polarization control assembly-comprising a Pockels cell, vertical polarizer, and half-wave plate-was implemented to vary the incident light polarization angle relative to the scattering plane. The observed trends in scattered irradiance agree with Lorenz–Mie theory predictions for the ratio of scattered light from a single PIV seed particle to that from a single soot particle, across a range of polarization angles. Experimental single-shot PIV images qualitatively illustrate the resulting improvements. Reduced soot-scattered light led to decreased velocity vector uncertainty and a lower incidence of vector dropouts in the processed PIV fields.

Source: Measurement Science and Technology

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6501/adfcfa

Authors: Luca Macarie, William C B Senior, Kristen M Stava, Rohan M Gejji, Carson D Slabaugh

Institution: Purdue University West Lafayette

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,325

Funder: Office of Naval Research