Development and Application of Laser Diagnostics for Reacting and Nonreacting Flows at Wright-Patterson AFB

Over the past few years, we have developed and applied a wide range of laser-diagnostic techniques to an equally wide range of complex flowfields at Wright-Patterson AFB. Our guiding principle in these efforts has been to employ laser-based tools to further our understanding of turbulent flames, so that in the end we improve combustor performance (e.g., thrust, emissions, etc.). We have primarily focused on three areas for development (though our areas of application have been much broader): 1) combined planar laser-induced fluorescence and particle-image velocimetry, 2) planar Doppler velocimetry, and 3) filtered Rayleigh scattering. Each of these is a powerful imaging diagnostic technique that allows the study of complex turbulent flowfields. We discuss these tools in the context of their application to turbulent flows as well as future diagnostic development.Copyright © 2002 by ASME