Flame temperature and location measurements of sooting premixed Bunsen flames by rainbow schlieren deflectometry

Rainbow schlieren deflectometry (RSD) provides a simple and nonintrusive way of determining the temperature field of axisymmetric flames. This technique is specially suited for the detection of large temperature gradients, such as those near the flame location. We explore the feasibility and accuracy of using RSD to obtain the flame location and thermal structure of premixed Bunsen flames for varying fuel types, equivalence ratios, and soot loadings. Uncertainty analysis is also carried out to provide various ways to reduce RSD experimental error. The RSD technique is demonstrated to give useful data even for moderately and heavily sooting flames.     

Miniature rainbow schlieren deflectometry system for quantitative measurements in microjets and flames

Recent interest in small-scale flow devices has created the need for miniature instruments capable of measuring scalar flow properties with high spatial resolution. We present a miniature rainbow schlieren deflectometry system to nonintrusively obtain quantitative species concentration and temperature data across the whole field. The optical layout of the miniature system is similar to that of a macroscale system, although the field of view is smaller by an order of magnitude. Employing achromatic lenses and a CCD array together with a camera lens and extension tubes, we achieved spatial resolution down to 4 mum. Quantitative measurements required a careful evaluation of the optical components. The capability of the system is demonstrated by obtaining concentration measurements in a helium microjet (diameter, d=650 microm) and temperature and concentration measurements in a hydrogen jet diffusion flame from a microinjector (d=50 microm). Further, the flow field of underexpanded nitrogen jets is visualized to reveal details of the shock structures existing downstream of the jet exit.     

Quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry as a temperature diagnostic for nonsooting spherical flames

Numerical analysis and experimental results are presented to define a method for quantitatively measuring the temperature distribution of a spherical diffusion flame using rainbow schlieren deflectometry in microgravity. The method employed illustrates the necessary steps for the preliminary design of a rainbow schlieren system. The largest deflection for the normal gravity flame considered in this paper is 7.4 x 10(-4) rad, which can be accurately measured with 2 m focal-length collimating and decollimating optics. The experimental uncertainty of deflection is less than 5 x 10-(5) rad.     

Temperature mapping in flames by moire deflectometry

The theory of moire deflectometry is derived using the Fourier series approach. The advantages and disadvantages of the infinite fringe limit are demonstrated. The approach of fringe deviation is compared to the intensity measurement, which is selected as being more suitable for flames. An experimental technique based on pointwise scanning is developed to obviate the deficiencies of the video system used previously. Moire data of CH 4/air flame are interpreted, and a full map of the temperature and gas density in the flame is produced. A comparison between moire deflectometry and related techniques is given.     

Systematic approach based on holographic interferometry measurements to characterize the flame structure of partially premixed flames

Partially premixed flames (PPF's) represent a class of hybrid flames that contain multiple reaction zones. A detailed understanding of the temperature distribution in PPF's is important from both practical and scientific considerations. Path-integrated or line-of-sight measurement techniques, such as holographic interferometry (HI), that are based on the change in the optical phase of a light beam can be used to reconstruct the refractive index n in flames and thereafter to infer the temperature distribution. Therefore to describe the flame structure in the context of these measurements requires that a systematic approach be developed that relates the density, the temperature, and the composition to the refractive index. We demonstrate that a conserved scalar xi that transforms the flame structure from a spatial to a generic distribution can be inferred from the refractive-index distribution. Thereafter measurements of the density, the temperature, and the composition in two-dimensional PPF's become feasible. We report the first application, to our knowledge, of this method to HI. Specifically, we used HI to measure the refractive-index distributions in methane-air PPF's. One PPF is a double flame that has two reaction zones, and the other is a triple flame that contains three reaction zones. We have applied the procedure to infer the distribution of the modified mixture fraction and thereafter the local temperature and the local mass fractions. We find the local temperature differences, DT(x, y) = |T[n(x, y)] - T?[xi(x, y)]|, to be relatively small. We conclude that it is possible to use HI to infer the mixture-fraction distribution and thereafter the flame structures by the application of state relations in the case of PPF's.     

Laser-induced incandescence for soot particle size measurements in premixed flat flames

Measurements of soot properties by means of laser-induced incandescence (LII) and combined scattering-extinction were performed in well-characterized premixed ethylene-air flames. In particular, the possibility of using LII as a tool for quantitative particle sizing was investigated. Particle sizes were evaluated from the temporal decay of the LII signal combined with heat balance modeling of laser-heated particles, and these sizes were compared with the particle sizes deduced from scattering-extinction measurements based on isotropic sphere theory. The correspondence was good early in the soot-formation process but less good at later stages, possibly because aggregation to clusters began to occur. A critical analysis has been made of how uncertainties in different parameters, both experimental and in the model, affect the evaluated particle sizes for LII. A sensitivity analysis of the LII model identified the ambient-flame temperature as a major source of uncertainty in the evaluated particle size, a conclusion that was supported by an analysis based on temporal LII profiles.     

Temperature dependence of laser-induced fluorescence of nitric oxide in laminar premixed atmospheric-pressure flames

The temperature dependence of laser-induced NO A (2)?(+)-X (2)? fluorescence in the hot gases of natural gas-air flames, seeded with known quantities of NO, has been determined experimentally by means of a difference method. The flame temperature at three fixed equivalence ratios was changed when the mixture velocity was varied through a water-cooled, flat-flame burner and was measured by coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy. When the possible reburning of part of the seeded NO is allowed for, the results in the range 1700-2150 K are best described by the temperature dependence obtained from a model in which quenching corrections are neglected, as in the case of a saturated two-level system, when millijoule pulse energies are used. Measurements of the fluorescence intensity at constant seed concentration as a function of equivalence ratio between 0.75 and 1.3 also indicate that quenching corrections are unnecessary under these excitation conditions. Using the measured intensities of the seeded flame as a calibration factor, we determined the absolute NO concentrations as functions of the equivalence ratio at 1 cm above the burner. The results indicate that, with the calibration method presented here, a relative accuracy of 5% should be obtainable.     

Background corrections for laser-induced-fluorescence measurements of nitric oxide in lean, high-pressure, premixed methane flames

An experimental technique is presented that both minimizes and accounts for the interference background when laser-induced-fluorescence (LIF) measurements are made of NO in lean, high-pressure, premixed, CH(4)/O(2)/N(2) flames. Measurement interferences such as fluorescence and Raman scattering from secondary species become increasingly important for high-pressure LIF studies. O(2) fluorescence interferences are particularly troublesome in lean premixed flames. An excitation-detection scheme that minimizes the effects of these interferences is identified. A procedure that corrects the resulting LIF signal so as to account for any remaining interference signal is then developed. This correction is found to vary from less than 10% of the overall NO signal at atmospheric pressure to over 40% of the overall signal at 14.6 atm for LIF measurements of NO in a series of worst-case flames (phi = 0.6, dilution ratio 2.2). The correction technique is further demonstrated to be portable over a useful range of flame conditions at each pressure.     

Experimental assessment of O(2) interferences on laser-induced fluorescence measurements of NO in high-pressure, lean premixed flames by use of narrow-band and broadband detection

We experimentally investigate the influence of O(2) interferences on laser-induced fluorescence measurements of NO in lean methane-fueled flames at a range of pressures for both narrow-band and broadband fluorescence detection. We identify NO excitation schemes that minimize O(2) interferences. From detection scans we obtain interference spectra for the different NO excitation schemes. We then identify optimum excitation-detection schemes for narrow-band detection measurements of NO. To simulate broadband detection experiments, we numerically apply five different filter combinations to the experimentally obtained detection scans. We develop filter-assessment parameters to judge the effectiveness of the different filtering schemes, and we establish a methodology for evaluating broadband excitation-detection strategies. From this research we identify optimum excitation-detection schemes for broadband detection measurements of NO.     

Temperature field measurements of small,nonpremixed flames with use of an Abel inversion of holographic interferograms

Interferometry has been used for many years as a semi-quantitative image-based diagnostic for combustion research. In this paper, we use image-plane, double-pulse holographic interferograms of axisymmetric flames to infer their radial temperature distribution. An Abel inversion is performed on the fringe data to account for line-of-sight integration through the flame. The sensitivity of nonresonant refractive diagnostics decreases inversely with temperature, and the accuracy of the technique is discussed in this context. A small, nonpremixed capillary flame is investigated, and the temperatures inferred from interferometry are compared with those obtained with N2 coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy thermometry. Additionally, the thermal field of a burning monodisperse methanol droplet stream is investigated interferometrically. Because of their small size, both of these flames challenge the performance limit of temperature interferometery.     

Synthesis of germanium oxide nanoparticles in low-pressure premixed flames

Germanium oxide (GeOx) nanoparticles in the size range from 1 nm to 5 nm were synthesized in a low-pressure premixed H2/O2/Ar flat flame of 30 mbar. The premixed flame was doped with different amounts of tetramethyl germanium (Ge(CH3)4) ranging from 250 ppm to 2000 ppm. The influence of process parameters such as the amount of oxygen in the reaction gas, the condensation and reaction time, standoff, and precursor concentration with respect to growth of germanium oxide particles were investigated. The particles formed were analyzed in situ according to their mass and charge with a particle mass spectrometer. The specific surface area was determined ex situ by the BET method. The crystal form and chemical composition of produced nanopowders were characterized by EDX analysis and X-ray diffraction measurements.     

Three-dimensional rainbow schlieren tomography of a temperature field in gas flows

We present quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry with tomography for measurements of temperature in three-dimensional gas flows. The schlieren apparatus with a continuously graded spectral filter of known transmissivity was used to create color schlieren images of the test media. These images at multiple viewing angles were used to infer beam deflection angles by the medium. The deflection data were used with a tomographic technique to reconstruct the refractive index and thus the temperature field. The temperature distributions obtained by the rainbow schlieren tomography agreed with those measured by a thermocouple probe. This research demonstrates that tomography can be used with full-field schlieren deflectometry to measure quantitatively temperature in asymmetric gas flows. The technique could be used to obtain related properties such as pressure, density, and gas composition.     

Temperature measurements of single droplets by use of laser-induced phosphorescence

A novel technique for measuring droplet temperatures has been demonstrated. Laser-induced phosphorescence from thermographic phosphors, seeded to distilled water and iso-octane, was used to measure temperatures of single falling droplets. The phosphors were excited by the fourth and third harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser. The subsequent emission was evaluated by spectral and temporal investigations of the thermographic phosphors Mg4FGeO6:Mn and La2O2S:Eu, respectively. The spectral and the temporal methods permitted temperature measurements of free-falling droplets up to 433 K. Results from both methods, which show an estimated accuracy of better than 1%, are presented.     

Measurements of absolute CH concentrations by cavity ring-down spectroscopy and linear laser-induced fluorescence in laminar, counterflow partially premixed and nonpremixed flames at atmospheric pressure

We report quantitative, spatially resolved measurements of methylidyne concentration ([CH]) in laminar, counterflow partially premixed and nonpremixed flames at atmospheric pressure by using both cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) and linear laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) in the A-X (0, 0) band. Three partially premixed (phiB = 1.45, 1.6, 2.0) flames plus a single nonpremixed methane-air flame are investigated at a global strain rate of 20 s(-1). These quantitative measurements are compared with predictions from an opposed-flow flame code when utilizing two GRI chemical kinetic mechanisms (versions 2.11 and 3.0). The LIF measurements of [CH] are corrected for variations in the electronic quenching rate coefficient by using predicted major species concentrations and temperatures along with quenching cross sections for CH that are available in the literature. The peak CH concentration obtained by CRDS is used to calibrate the quenching-corrected LIF measurements. Excellent agreement is obtained between CH concentration profiles measured by using the CRDS and LIF techniques. The spatial location of the CH layer is very well predicted by GRI 3.0; moreover, the measured and predicted CH concentrations are in good agreement for all the flames of this study.     

Digital holographic interferometry for measurement of temperature in axisymmetric flames

In this paper, experimental investigations and analysis is presented to measure the temperature and temperature profile of gaseous flames using lensless Fourier transform digital holographic interferometry. The evaluations of the experimental results give the accuracy, sensitivity, spatial resolution, and range of measurements to be well within the experimental limits. Details of the experimental results and analysis are presented.     

Use of laser-induced ionization to detect soot inception in premixed flames

Experimental measurements of laser-induced ionization were performed for ethene-air premixed flames operated near the soot inception point. Soot was ionized with a pulsed laser operated at 532 nm. The ionization signal was collected with a tungsten electrode located in the postflame region. Ionization signals were collected by use of both single-electrode and dual-electrode configurations. Earlier laser-induced-ionization studies focused on the use of a single biased electrode to generate the electric field, with the burner head serving as the path to ground. In many practical combustion systems, a path to ground is not readily available. To apply the laser-induced-ionization diagnostic to these geometries, a dual-electrode geometry must be employed. The influence of electrode configuration, flame equivalence ratio, and flame height on ionization signal detection was determined. The efficacy of the laser-induced-ionization diagnostic in detecting soot inception in the postflame region of a premixed flame by use of a dual-electrode configuration was investigated. Of the dual-electrode configurations tested, the dual-electrode geometry oriented parallel to the laser beam was observed to be most sensitive for detecting the soot inception point in a premixed flame.     

Composition measurements of binary mixture droplets by rainbow refractometry

So far, refractive index measurements by rainbow refractometry have been used to determine the temperature of single droplets and ensembles of droplets. Rainbow refractometry is, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, applied to measure composition histories of evaporating, binary mixture droplets. An evaluation method is presented that makes use of Airy theory and the simultaneous size measurement by Mie scattering imaging. The method further includes an empirical correction function for a certain diameter and refractive index range. The measurement uncertainty was investigated by numerical simulations with Lorenz-Mie theory. For the experiments, an optical levitation setup was used allowing for long measurement periods. Temperature measurements of single-component droplets at different temperature levels are shown to demonstrate the accuracy of rainbow refractometry. Measurements of size and composition histories of binary mixture droplets are presented for two different mixtures. Experimental results show good agreement with numerical results using a rapid-mixing model.     

Talbot interferometer with circular gratings for the measurement of temperature in axisymmetric gaseous flames

A detailed study for measuring the temperature distribution in axisymmetric flames by using a Talbot interferometer with circular gratings is presented. We increased the sensitivity of the interferometer by optimizing the pitch of the grating and the Talbot plane. We compare the experimental results with the values that were measured with a thermocouple to an accuracy of ±0.2% of full scale ±4 digits. Good agreement is seen between the temperatures measured by use of a thermocouple and those measured by use of Talbot interferometry.     

Temperature imaging in nonpremixed flames by joint filtered Rayleigh and Raman scattering

Joint fuel Raman and filtered Rayleigh-scattering (FRS) imaging is demonstrated in a laminar methane-air diffusion flame. These experiments are, to our knowledge, the first reported extension of the FRS technique to nonpremixed combustion. This joint imaging approach allows for correction of the FRS images for the large variations in Rayleigh cross section that occur in diffusion flames and for a secondary measurement of fuel mole fraction. The temperature-dependent filtered Rayleigh cross sections are computed with a six-moment kinetic model for calculation of major-species Rayleigh-Brillouin line shapes and a flamelet-based model for physically judicious estimates of gas-phase chemical composition. Shot-averaged temperatures, fuel mole fractions, and fuel number densities from steady and vortex-strained diffusion flames stabilized on a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner are presented, and a detailed uncertainty analysis reveals that the FRS-measured temperatures are accurate to within +/- 4.5 to 6% of the local absolute temperature.