Quantitative optical tomographic imaging of a supersonic jet

Area of Science:

• Fluid Dynamics
• Optical Physics
• Chemical Physics

Background:

• Supersonic expansions are crucial in various scientific fields, including nozzle design and plasma generation.
• Accurate density measurements are essential for understanding and modeling these expansions.
• Optical absorption tomography offers a non-intrusive method for quantitative imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a high-resolution optical absorption tomography technique for imaging chlorine density.
• To achieve precise quantitative measurements of chlorine distribution in a supersonic expansion.
• To report on the measurement of the chlorine absorption coefficient.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing optical absorption tomography with an incoherent arc-lamp source for ultraviolet radiation.
• Employing 150-micrometer pixel resolution for detailed imaging.
• Performing quantitative analysis of transmitted light to determine density.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated two-dimensional quantitative images of chlorine density.
• Achieved an absolute accuracy of 5% in the density measurements.
• Reported a measurement of the chlorine absorption coefficient.

Conclusions:

• Optical absorption tomography is a viable and accurate method for characterizing supersonic expansions.
• The technique provides high-resolution, quantitative data essential for scientific understanding.
• The reported chlorine absorption coefficient contributes to spectroscopic databases.