Optical measurements. Techniques and applications. Incl. 1 CD-ROM. (Q4544902)

Optical methods have been used for many years in the analysis of various phenomena because of their advantages as measuring techniques. They do not influence the process under examination and because of their inertia free response they can also be used for very fast and highly transient phenomena. The book under review provides comprehensive and detailed information on most of the modern optical measuring techniques being of interest for engineers and physicists in practice. Chapter 2 deals with the Schlieren technique based on the deflection of a collimated light beam crossing a transparent medium with gradients of the index of reflection. The basic principle as well as various applications of the technique are discussed. In Chapter 3, the authors explain principles of holography and interferometry including simple holographic arrangements, various interferometry techniques and evaluation of interferograms. More details about the holographic interferometry can be found in Chapter 4. Advices are given on the selection of the component required to build a holographic interferometer. Explaining the theoretical principles of evaluation of interferograms, the authors discuss the calculation of the temperature and concentration distributions as well as the determination of the local heat transfer coefficient. In Chapter 5, a brief historical development of holography and physical description of that process are followed by the explanation of short time holography including the description of optical components and explanation of procedures for recording and reconstructing a hologram. Chapter 6 is devoted to the application of digital image processing to the evaluation of holographic particle field reconstruction and the corresponding personal computer based image processing system configuration. Such basic concepts as digitization of a picture, grey value pictures, image processing, scanning of holograms, evaluation of holograms and interferograms are explained there. Chapter 7 deals with light scattering. The first part of the chapter provides a classification and short description of the physical nature of various scattering processes. The second part focuses on the technical application of these processes in the field of heat transfer. In Chapter 8, the physical principle of the Laser-Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) is given together with its application to measurement of characteristic turbulence quantities. The LDV is an optical measuring method based on the physical effect of Mie scattering which allows the determination of the velocity of a fluid with a very temporal and spatial resolution. The flow is not distributed by a probe. Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) is a laser optical technique for simultaneous measurement of the velocity and size of spherical particles. Additionally, it can be used for concentration and mass flux measurements. In Chapter 9, there are given physical principles of the PDA, measurement accuracy and applications of PDA are discussed, too. The 10th Chapter is devoted to dynamic light scattering by a sample of fluid and its application to measurements of diffusion characteristics. The basis of light scattering theory as well as experimental methods are discussed. The Raman spectroscopy is mostly applied to molecules because of their specific, discrete rotational and vibrational energy levels. Chapter 11 deals with the theoretical basis of Raman spectroscopy as well as its applications to measurements of concentrations and temperature. The experimental set-up and selected applications are discussed, too. Laser induced fluorescence methods are based on laser excitations and subsequent natural fluorescence of molecules and atoms. Due to the high signal strength (as compared with techniques based on light scattering) this method provides excellent time and space resolution. The principal applications are the measurement of minority species concentrations and temperatures. Before the description of experimental setup, procedures and selected applications, the basic principles of laser induced fluorescence are given in Chapter 12. Chapter 13 is devoted to the measurements based on monitoring the absorption of the radiation and its analysis for the dependence on wavelength. Absorption is widely used for industrial gas analysis because of its simplicity, low cost and effectiveness. The use of laser brings the advantages of the high spectral resolution. A classification of experimental techniques and examples of experimental measurements are presented after theoretical characterization of spectral lines. Pyrometry and Thermography are two closely related measurement techniques. In the first one, the temperature radiations are recorded by a pyrometer (radiation thermometer) resulting in point like information, while in thermography the information obtained is optically recorded as an entire scene and displayed as a temperature picture. In Chapter 14, the authors study three sectors of the temperature measurements without direct contact. These sectors are: the surface source of temperature radiation, the method of transmission (influence radiation) and the receiver-detector (signal generating process). Chapter 15 describes the different measurement techniques used in tomography. The mathematical methods implemented in reconstruction of the measured physical properties are reviewed and the quality of the reconstruction is critically evaluated. Some applications of tomographic techniques are also discussed. The chapter on particle image velocimetry concludes the review of optical measuring techniques presented in the book. The velocity distribution in a whole field of a fluid flow is determined by measuring the displacements of tracer particles during a time interval. Hardware for the experimental set-up as well as evaluation software and several applications are reviewed in this chapter.