Dynamic Holography Droplet Clouds Analysis System

To address the Army need for a high-speed measurement instrument to record and display water droplet demise through vehicle-induced shocks, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Dynamic Holography Droplet Clouds Analysis System (DHDCAS) with the capability of measuring 3D volume domains, particle velocity and size distributions (0.5 ~ 4 mm), shape, and mass as a function of time (<0.1 sec time-resolution). The proposed DHDCAS is based on dynamic holography with an enhanced photorefractive semiconductor material. The innovation in DHDCAS will enable the system to record holograms at a very high speed, which will allow recording and visualization of dynamic events and provide 3D information of water droplet demise. In Phase I, POC demonstrated the feasibility of DHDCAS by designing, analyzing, and fabricating a breadboard setup and successfully recording single-particle holograms in real-time and displaying 3D images via a CCD camera. In Phase II, POC proposes to develop a fully functional, compact prototype system that provides high-speed recording of single particle and droplet cloud, displaying the dynamic 3D event, and measuring particle velocity and size distributions, shape, and mass as a function of time in 3D volume domains.