Development of an optical patternator for the rapid, accurate, and reliable measurement of liquid spray temporal and spatial mass distribution and siz

In many engineering applications, the spatial and temporal distribution of a liquid spray is a determining factor in the system performance. In addition, the size of the droplets produced by the atomization process can also play a significant role. As a result, an instrument is highly desirable for a myriad of applications that provides rapid, accurate, and reliable (1) spatial and temporal distribution of the spray mass and (2) the droplet sizes present in the spray. The proposed research effort will develop such an instrument for commercialization. The basic approach involves laser induced fluorescence, elastic scattering, and digital imaging. Work will be conducted with two emphases: 1. Resolution of the issues associated with the measurement of the spatial and temporal distribution of liquid, 2. the addition of planar droplet sizing (PDS). The laser induced fluorescence can be related to D3 and is utilized to determine spatial and temporal mass distribution in a plane of the spray. The elastic scattering can be related to D2, and, as a result, the ratio of the fluorescence image intensity to the elastic scattering image intensity provides the Sauter mean diameter (D32) in the a plane.