Brian S. Thurow

Large-scale structure evolution and sound emission in high-speed jets : real-time visualization with simultaneous acoustic measurements

This investigation presents a unique and elaborate set of experiments relating the generation of noise to the evolution of large-scale turbulence structures within an ideally expanded, Mach 1.28, high-Reynolds-number

Narrow-linewidth megahertz-rate pulse-burst laser for high-speed flow diagnostics

(1.03\,{\times}\,10^{6})

Review of ultra-high repetition rate laser diagnostics for fluid dynamic measurements

jet. The results appear to indicate many similarities between the noise generation processes of high-speed low-Reynolds-number and high-speed high-Reynolds-number jets. Similar to the rapid changes observed in theregion of noise generation in low-Reynolds-number jets in previous experimental and computational work, a series of robust flow features formed approximately one convective time scale before noise emission and then rapidly disintegrated shortly before the estimated moment of noise emission. Coincident with the disintegration, a positive image intensity fluctuation formed at the jet centreline in a region that is immediately past the endof the potential core. This indicates mixed fluid had reached the jet core. These results are consistent with the formation of large-scale structures within the shear layer, which entrain ambient air into the jet, and their eventual interaction and disintegration apparently result in noise generation. These results are quite different from the evolution of the jet during prolonged periods that lacked significant sound emission. The observations presented in this work were made through the use of well-established technique that were brought together in an unconventional fashion. The sources of large-amplitude sound waves were estimated in time and three-dimensional space using a novel microphone array/beamforming algorithm while the noise-generation region of the mixing layer was simultaneously visualized on two orthogonal planes (one of which was temporally resolved). The flow images were conditionally sampled based on whether or not a sound wave wascreated within the region of the flow while it was being imaged and a series of images was compiled that was roughly phase-locked onto the moment of sound emission. Another set of images was gathered based on a lack of sound waves reaching the microphone array over several convective time scales. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) was then used tocreate a basis for the flow images and this basis was used to reconstruct the evolution of the jet.

Compressibility effects on turbulence structures of axisymmetric mixing layers

A second-generation pulse-burst laser system for high-speed flow diagnostics is described in detail. The laser can produce a burst of high-energy pulses (of the order of hundreds of millijoules per pulse) with individual pulse durations of less than 10 ns and pulse separations as short as 1 micros. A key improvement is the addition of a phase-conjugate mirror, which effectively isolates the high-intensity, short-duration pulses from the low-intensity, long-duration background illumination. It allows for more-efficient amplification and harmonic generation, with efficiencies exceeding 50% for second-harmonic and 40% for third-harmonic generation. Characteristics of the laser system, including gain narrowing, pulse-burst energy distribution, pulse narrowing, and overall pulse-burst energy, are described. In addition, the applicability of the laser for spectroscopic-based flow diagnostics is demonstrated through the presentation of megahertz-rate planar Doppler velocimetry results.

Volumetric particle image velocimetry with a single plenoptic camera

Recent advances in ultra-high repetition rate (100?kHz and above) laser diagnostics for fluid dynamic measurements are reviewed. The development of the pulse burst laser system, which enabled several of these advances, is described. The pulse burst laser system produces high repetition rate output by slicing the output of a low power continuous wave laser and passing the resulting burst of pulses through a series of pulsed Nd:YAG amplifiers. Several systems have been built with output approaching 1.0 J/pulse over bursts of up to 100 pulses generated at between 50 and 1000?kHz. Combined with the capabilities of several types of commercially available high-speed cameras, these systems have been used to make a wide variety of high repetition rate and 3D flow measurements. Several examples of various high repetition rate laser diagnostics are described, including flow visualization, filtered Rayleigh scattering, planar Doppler velocimetry, particle image velocimetry, planar laser induced fluorescence, molecular tagging velocimetry and 3D flow visualization.

Third-generation megahertz-rate pulse burst laser system

A real-time flow visualization system that produces 17 images over a time span of 150 μs is used to visualize the mixing layers of Mach 1.3 (Mc=0.59) and Mach 2.0 (Mc=0.87) ideally expanded high Reynolds number axisymmetric jets. These image sequences reveal details about the influence of compressibility on the dynamics of turbulence structures. In general, the behavior observed in axisymmetric jets is similar to that observed in planar shear layers at similar convective Mach numbers. In addition, large streamwise vortices are apparent in cross-stream images of the flow. Large-scale structures become more three-dimensional and less organized with increasing compressibility and more difficult to identify and track. Planar space–time correlations are used to track structures as they convect downstream. The histogram of the convective velocity for the Mach 1.3 jet revealed a broad distribution of convective velocities with an ensemble average of 266 m/s, which is much higher than the theoretical prediction o...

A technique for real-time visualization of flow structure in high-speed flows

A novel three-dimensional (3D), three-component (3C) particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique based on volume illumination and light field imaging with a single plenoptic camera is described. A plenoptic camera uses a densely packed microlens array mounted near a high resolution image sensor to sample the spatial and angular distribution of light collected by the camera. The multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) computed tomography algorithm is used to reconstruct a volumetric intensity field from individual snapshots and a cross-correlation algorithm is used to estimate the velocity field from a pair of reconstructed particle volumes. This work provides an introduction to the basic concepts of light field imaging with a plenoptic camera and describes the unique implementation of MART in the context of plenoptic image data for 3D/3C PIV measurements. Simulations of a plenoptic camera using geometric optics are used to generate synthetic plenoptic particle images, which are subsequently used to estimate the quality of particle volume reconstructions at various particle number densities. 3D reconstructions using this method produce reconstructed particles that are elongated by a factor of approximately 4 along the optical axis of the camera. A simulated 3D Gaussian vortex is used to test the capability of single camera plenoptic PIV to produce a 3D/3C vector field, where it was found that lateral displacements could be measured to approximately 0.2 voxel accuracy in the lateral direction and 1 voxel in the depth direction over a voxel volume. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated experimentally using a home-built plenoptic camera based on a 16-megapixel interline CCD camera and a array of microlenses and a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. 3D/3C measurements were performed in the wake of a low Reynolds number circular cylinder and compared with measurements made using a conventional 2D/2C PIV system. Overall, single camera plenoptic PIV is shown to be a viable 3D/3C velocimetry technique.

Development of Megahertz-Rate Planar Doppler Velocimetry for High Speed Flows

The design and performance of a third-generation megahertz-rate pulse burst laser system is described. The third-generation system incorporates two distinct design changes that distinguish it from earlier-generation systems. The first is that pulse slicing is now achieved by using an economical acousto-optic modulator (AOM), and the second is the use of a variable pulse duration flashlamp driver that provides relatively uniform gain over a ~700 mus window. The use of an AOM for pulse slicing permits flexible operation such as pulse-on-demand operation with variable pulse durations ranging from 10 ns to DC. The laser described here is capable of producing a burst of laser pulses at repetition rates as high as 50 MHz and peak powers of 10 kW. Second-harmonic conversion efficiency using a type II KTP crystal is also demonstrated.

Exploring Noise Sources Using Simultaneous Acoustic Measurements and Real-Time Flow Visualizations in Jets

A newly developed MHz rate imaging system that provides real-time flow visualization is described. The technique utilizes a custom-built Nd:YAG pulse burst laser and an ultra high-speed digital camera and is capable of capturing 17 images over 150 microseconds. The system was used to visualize a Mach 1.3 (M c =0.6) axisymmetric jet. Sample results indicate the potential of the technique to provide detailed information on the dynamic characteristics of large-scale structures. A two-dimensional cross-correlation technique was used to calculate the convective velocity of large-scale structures. Present results generally agree with the findings of earlier investigations that indicate a significant deviation of the convective velocity from theoretical predictions.

Issues with measurements of the convective velocity of large-scale structures in the compressible shear layer of a free jet

A pulse burst laser and either one or two high-speed charge-coupled-device cameras were used to perform onecomponent time-resolved planar-Doppler-velocimetry (PDV) measurements in a rectangular Mach 2.0 jet. The measurements were carried out on a streamwise plane passing through the jet centerline and covering approximately 6‐12 jet heights downstream of the jet exit. The pulse burst laser operated at 0.532-µ mw avelength and produced 28 pulses at 250 kHz with approximately 9 mJ/pulse energy. Velocity image sequences consisting of 28 frames showed dynamics of the velocity field over a time span of 108 µs (approximately 4.5 convective timescales). A typical sequence of images is presented, which demonstrates the process of entrainment of low-speed fluid into the high-speed region of the jet. Mean and standard deviation statistics of the velocity calculations produced expected trends and showed good agreement between the single- and two-camera experiments. An error analysis revealed speckle as the predominant source of noise, as in a conventional PDV technique. At a transmission ratio of 0.5, the estimated total error is 13 m/s for the single-camera experiment and 15 m/s for the two-camera experiment. I. Introduction P LANAR Doppler velocimetry is a powerful optical diagnostic technique that can be used to measure all three components of instantaneous velocity over a two-dimensional plane within a flowfield with high spatial resolution. This is accomplished by using an atomic or molecular vapor filter to measure the frequency shift of light as it is scattered by particles contained in the flowfield. The �