Laser Doppler

Laser Doppler Velocimeters. Laser Doppler flow meters have been developed to measure Hquid or gas velocities in both open and closed conduits. Velocity is measured by detecting the frequency shift in the light scattered by natural or added contaminant particles in the flow. Operation is conceptually analogous to the Doppler ultrasonic meters. Laser Doppler meters can be appHed to very low flows and have the advantage of sensing at a distance, without mechanical contact or interaction. The technique has greatest appHcation in open-flow studies such as the deterrnination of engine exhaust velocities and ship wake characteristics. 

A method which competes with interferometric distance measurement is laser Doppler displacement. In this approach the Doppler shift of the beam reflected from a target is measured and integrated to obtain displacement. This method also is best suited to use indoors at distances no more than a few hundred meters. Table 2 compares some of the characteristics of these laser-based methods of distance measurement. 

P. Durst, A. Melling, and J. H. Whitelaw, Principles andPractices of Laser Doppler Anemomety, Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1976. 

Nonintrusive Instrumentation. Essential to quantitatively enlarging fundamental descriptions of flow patterns and flow regimes are localized nonintmsive measurements. Early investigators used time-averaged pressure traverses for holdups, and pilot tubes for velocity measurements. In the 1990s investigators use laser-Doppler and hot film anemometers, conductivity probes, and optical fibers to capture time-averaged turbulent fluctuations (39). 

Limits of detection become a problem in capillary electrophoresis because the amounts of analyte that can be loaded into a capillary are extremely small. In a 20 p.m capillary, for example, there is 0.03 P-L/cm capillary length. This is 1/100 to 1/1000 of the volume typically loaded onto polyacrylamide or agarose gels. For trace analysis, a very small number of molecules may actually exist in the capillary after loading. To detect these small amounts of components, some on-line detectors have been developed which use conductivity, laser Doppler effects, or narrowly focused lasers (qv) to detect either absorbance or duorescence (47,48). The conductivity detector claims detection limits down to lO molecules. The laser absorbance detector has been used to measure some of the components in a single human cell (see Trace AND RESIDUE ANALYSIS). 

The laser-Doppler anemometer measures local fluid velocity from the change in frequency of radiation, between a stationary source and a receiver, due to scattering by particles along the wave path. A laser is commonly used as the source of incident illumination. The measurements are essentially independent of local temperature and pressure. This technique can be used in many different flow systems with transparent fluids containing particles whose velocity is actually measured. For a brief review or the laser-Doppler technique see Goldstein, Appl. Mech. Rev., 27, 753-760 (1974). For additional details see Durst, MeUing, and Whitelaw, Principles and Practice of Laser-Doppler Anemometry, Academic, New York, 1976. 

Durand, M. (1984), Use of Optical Fibers for Velocity Measurement by Laser Doppler Interferometry with a Fabry-Perot Interferometer. In High Speed Photography and Photonics, Proc. SPIE, 491 (edited by M. Andre and M. Hugenschmidt), pp. 650-656. 

The corresponding laser-based experimental methods are covered below, with special regard to the laser Doppler anemometer technique, which offers the greatest application use in industrial ventilation at the lowest cost. 

L. E. Drain. The Laser Doppler Technique. London John Wiley Sons, 1988. 

Laser Doppler anemometer An instrument for determining fluid velocity by measuring the difference in frequency between the incident beam and that... 

The flow patterns for single phase, Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids in tanks agitated by various types of impeller have been repotted in the literature.1 3 27 38 39) The experimental techniques which have been employed include the introduction of tracer liquids, neutrally buoyant particles or hydrogen bubbles, and measurement of local velocities by means of Pitot tubes, laser-doppler anemometers, and so on. The salient features of the flow patterns encountered with propellers and disc turbines are shown in Figures 7.9 and 7.10. 

The brief history, operation principle, and applications of the above-mentioned techniques are described in this chapter. There are several other measuring techniques, such as the fluorometry technique. Scanning Acoustic Microscopy, Laser Doppler Vibrometer, and Time-of-flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, which are successfully applied in micro/nanotribology, are introduced in this chapter, too. 

Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) is a sensitive laser optical technique well suited for noncontact dynamic response measurements of microscopic structures. Up to now, this technology has integrated the micro-scanning function for... 

Sullivan, J. R, Windnall, S. E., and Ezekiel, S., Study of vortex rings using a laser Doppler velocimeter, AIAA Journal, 11, 1384-1389, 1973. 

This system produces a steady laminar flow with a flat velocity profile at the burner exit for mean flow velocities up to 5m/s. Velocity fluctuations at the burner outlet are reduced to low levels as v /v< 0.01 on the central axis for free jet injection conditions. The burner is fed with a mixture of methane and air. Experiments-described in what follows are carried out at fixed equivalence ratios. Flow perturbations are produced by the loudspeaker driven by an amplifier, which is fed by a sinusoidal signal s)mthesizer. Velocity perturbations measured by laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) on the burner symmetry axis above the nozzle exit plane are also purely sinusoidal and their spectral... 

Velocity vectors of the gas flow measured using laser Doppler anemometry inside a closed chamber during the formation of a tulip flame. Images of the flame are also shown, though the velocity measurements required many repeated runs, hence, the image is only representative. The chamber has square cross sections of 38.1mm on the side. The traces in the velocity fields are the flame locations based on velocity data dropout. The vorticity generated as the flame changes shape appears clearly in the velocity vectors. 

Laser Doppler anemometry data showing the axial velocity along the centerline of a 380 mm long closed chamber during the formation of acetylene/air tulip flames of different equivalence ratios. The velocity is measured 265 mm from the ignition thus, the tulip shape is already formed before the flame reaches the measurement point. This work shows the behavior similar to the results described in Figure 5.3.9. (Adapted from Starke, R. and Roth, R, Combust. Flame, 66,249,1986.)... 

There are many nonintrusive experimental tools available that can help scientists to develop a good picture of fluid dynamics and transport in chemical reactors. Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), particle image velocimetry (PIV) and sonar Doppler for velocity measurement, planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) for mixing studies, and high-speed cameras and tomography are very useful for multiphase studies. These experimental methods combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) provide very good tools to understand what is happening in chemical reactors. 

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