Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026
09:16
Measurement of Particle Size Distribution in Turbid Solutions by Dynamic Light Scattering Microscopy
Published on: January 9, 2017
Sizing of irregular particles using a near backscattered laser Doppler system
Xuecheng Wu1, Gérard Grehan, Kefa Cen
1State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, The Institute for Thermal Power Engineering of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. fencewu@zju.edu.cn
Applied Optics
|December 20, 2007
Summary
This study introduces a laser Doppler system for measuring irregular particle size in two-phase flows. The method accurately reconstructs size distributions, even with fluctuating particle responses, demonstrating its industrial applicability.
Area of Science:
- Fluid Dynamics
- Particle Characterization
- Optical Measurement Techniques
Background:
- Accurate measurement of irregular particle size and velocity in two-phase flows is crucial for industrial processes.
- Existing laser Doppler techniques often struggle with the complex scattering behavior of non-spherical particles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a near backscattered laser Doppler system for robust velocity and size distribution measurements of irregular particles.
- To investigate the influence of various parameters on measurement accuracy and explore advanced inversion algorithms.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a near backscattered laser Doppler velocimetry system.
- Employed Holve's numerical inversion scheme to interpret Doppler signals.
- Investigated statistical estimation of particle size distribution from signal amplitudes.
- Simulated performance and error levels, analyzing parameters like particle sampling and response function fluctuations.
- Compared non-negative least-squares (NNLS) with Phillips-Twomey-NNLS inversion algorithms.
Main Results:
- Successfully reconstructed particle size distributions for irregular particles, even with significant response function fluctuations.
- The Phillips-Twomey-NNLS algorithm demonstrated superior performance over the standard NNLS algorithm.
- Experimental verification with irregular quartz sands (200-560 microm) showed an average measurement error of approximately 23.3%.
Conclusions:
- The developed laser Doppler system reliably measures size distributions of irregular particles in two-phase flows.
- The technique shows significant potential for accurate industrial measurements, overcoming challenges posed by particle irregularity and response fluctuations.
