Optical measurements inside reacting flows are often disturbed by refractive index fields, e.g., due to the strong density gradients in flames. Although occurring measurement errors due to light refraction are a known problem for certain particle image velocimetry (PIV) applications, only a qualitative analysis of the resulting measurement uncertainty inside flame flows has been carried out to date. As an important step forward, a measurement approach is proposed, which enables a quantification of the resulting measurement uncertainties due to light refraction. As an example, the measurement approach is applied to a premixed propane flame. The uncertainty analysis is based on the determination of occurring particle position errors due to light refraction inside the flame. For three different measurement planes, the velocity field is measured with PIV and the particle position errors are experimentally measured and verified by ray-tracing simulation based on the measured refractive index field, which is determined by the background-oriented Schlieren method. In the examined flow, maximal position errors amount up to 14 μm and yield significant systematic velocity errors of up to 4% and random velocity errors of up to 6%. In contrast to the systematic velocity error, the random velocity error varies significantly for the analyzed measurement planes inside the flame flow.
Graphic abstract
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an optical, and thus non-contact, but not non-invasive, measurement technique. Investigating the impact of laser-induced breakdown on a gas flow, combined LIBS and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed. In the considered laminar air flow, the induced velocity field disturbance has an extent of about 0.7 cm with magnitudes up to 0.9 ms−1. As a further result, the combination of LIBS with other measurement techniques or high-speed LIBS measurements are found to require a minimal time delay of about 500 s in order to ensure influence of the preceding LIBS pulse on the considered gas flow of about 10 % relative velocity deviation. For a reduction to 0 % relative velocity deviation a time delay of about 20 ms is estimated for the investigated flow. Smaller time delays may occur in turbulent flows or flows with higher velocities.
Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements in reactive flows are disturbed by inhomogeneous refractive index fields, which cause measurement deviations in particle positions due to light refraction. The resulting measurement errors are known for standard PIV, but the measurement errors for stereoscopic PIV are still unknown. Therefore, for comparison, the velocity errors for standard and stereoscopic PIV are analyzed in premixed propane flames with different Reynolds numbers. For this purpose, ray-tracing simulations based on the time-averaged inhomogeneous refractive index fields of the studied non-swirled flame flows measured by the background-oriented Schlieren technique are performed to quantify the resulting position errors of the particles. In addition, the performance of the volumetric self-calibration relevant to tomographic PIV is analyzed with respect to the remaining position errors of the particles within the flames. The position errors cause significant standard PIV errors of 2% for the velocity component radial to the burner symmetry axis. Stereoscopic PIV measurements result in measurement errors of up to 3% radial to the burner axis and 13% for the velocity component perpendicular to the measurement plane. Due to the lower refractive index gradients in the axial direction, no significant velocity errors are observed for the axial velocity component. For the investigated flame configurations, the position errors and velocity errors increase with the Reynolds numbers. However, this dependence needs to be verified for other flame configurations such as swirled flame flows.
We present quasi-simultaneous laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and particle imaging velocimetiy (PIV) for sttrdying reacting flows. This allows a point measurement of the equivalence ratio and determining the flow field at the same time.
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