LASER DOPPLER VELOCIMETER IN TRANSIENT IMPELLER FLOWS

A LASER DOPPLER VELOCIMETER SYSTEM TO MEASURE TRANSIENT IMPELLER FLOW FIELDS IS PROPOSED. THIS SYSTEM, USING FIBER OPTICS, WILL MEASURE BOTH TANGENTIAL AND RADIAL COMPONENTS OF VELOCITY SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE HARDWARE AND ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE WILL BE SPECIALLY DESIGNED TO COLLECT AND ANALYZE DATA FROM THE TRANSIENT OPERATING CONDITIONS FROM START-UP TO ACHIEVING FULL SPEED. A THREE-AXIS TRAVERSE MECHANISM WILL PROVIDE THE MOVEMENT OF THE MEASURING VOLUME FOR FLOW MAPPING. THE SAME LDV SYSTEM CAN BE ADAPTED TO MEASURE THE AXIAL COMPONENT OF VELOCITY ALSO. THE WORK PROPOSED WILL USE A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH IN SELECTING A SUITABLE OPTICAL SYSTEM, SIGNAL PROCESSOR, AND DEFINE THE SOFTWARE. ASPECTS SUCH AS DATA COLLECTION, SEEDING, AND IMPROVING MEASURMENT ACCURACY WILL ALSO BE FOCUSSED UPON.