High-Speed Non-Intrusive Measurement Techniques for the Visualization of Droplet Clouds

In Phase I we will develop a lab-scale prototype system of digital/analogue 3-d static as well as dynamic single droplet holography. We will also develop algorithms to visualize and determine the particle size, shape, and velocity of a droplet in a lab setup/gun tunnel. We will demonstrate the methodology for extending from single drop to multiple drops in a cloud. By building on the experimental knowledge gathered in Phase I, we will extend the work to Phase II where we will have many droplets in a cloud with a mixture of water, ice, dust and sand particles. In Phase II we will develop a full scale device with off-the-shelf hardware to record 3-D holograms of single droplet shape, velocity and density. Also in this phase we will study particle size distributions and velocities. We will build a friendly user interface for calculating the various parameters that our theoretical study can determine such as average and standard deviation of the particle sizes, their average and dynamic velocities, and the corresponding distribution laws. In Phase III we will help in integrating our device with the aviation and missile test setups to measure particle characteristics.