Optical tomography system for laboratory turbulence measurements

We describe the design and operation of a high speed optical tomography system for measuring 2D images of a dynamic phase object at a rate of 5 kHz. Data from a set of eight Hartmann wavefront sensors is back-projected to produce phase images showing the details of the inner structure of a heated air flow. Series of reconstructions at different downstream locations illustrate the development of flow structure and the effect of acoustic flow forcing.