Lars Büttner

Boundary layer velocity measurements by a laser Doppler profile sensor with micrometre spatial resolution

We have developed a differential laser Doppler profile sensor for distributed one-component velocity measurements with high spatial resolution. Two Doppler frequencies are measured simultaneously in order to determine the position as well as the velocity of individual tracer particles passing through the measurement volume. In the centre of the measurement volume the obtained uncertainty of the position is about 1.6 µm. The profile measurement has the advantage that no mechanical scanning is needed to obtain flow velocity profiles over a length of 5 mm. The profile sensor thus provides a tool for highly resolved instantaneous measurements of shear flows, which have strong velocity gradients.

Turbo machine tip clearance and vibration measurements using a fibre optic laser Doppler position sensor

This paper presents a novel fibre optic laser Doppler position sensor for single blade tip clearance and vibration measurements at turbo machines, which offers high temporal resolution and high position resolution simultaneously. The sensor principle is based on the generation of a measurement volume consisting of two superposed fan-like interference fringe systems with contrary fringe spacing gradients using wavelength division multiplexing. A flexible and robust measurement system with an all-passive fibre coupled measurement head has been realized employing diffractive and refractive optics. Measurements of tip clearance and rotor vibrations at a transonic centrifugal compressor performed during operation at up to 50 000 rpm (833 Hz) corresponding to 21.7 kHz blade frequency and 586 m s−1 blade tip velocity are presented. The results are in excellent agreement with those of capacitive probes. The mean uncertainty of the position measurement was around 20 µm and, thus, considerably better than for conventional tip clearance probes. Consequently, this sensor is capable of fulfilling the requirements for future active clearance control systems and has great potential for in situ and online tip clearance and vibration measurements at metallic and non-metallic turbine blades with high precision.

Laser Doppler profile sensor with sub-micrometre position resolution for velocity and absolute radius measurements of rotating objects

We have investigated the application of a laser Doppler profile sensor for simultaneous measurement of position and velocity on moving rough surfaces. It is shown that, with this technique, the shape of rotating workpieces and components, e.g., turbine blades or turning parts, can be measured absolutely and in-process with only one single sensor. Measurements on different surfaces with defined shape and roughness are presented. The obtained minimum uncertainty in the position is about 250 nm in the centre of the measurement volume. For the velocity, a relative statistical error of 0.02% was obtained. Furthermore, shading effects as occurring for example at triangulation are reduced since illumination and signal detection can be coaxial. Because the measurement occurs contactless and a high temporal resolution is achievable, this sensor can open up new perspectives in the field of real-time production metrology, for example controlling the turning and the grinding process or at tip-clearance measurements in gas turbines.

Monochromatic heterodyne fiber-optic profile sensor for spatially resolved velocity measurements with frequency division multiplexing

Investigating shear flows is important in technical applications as well as in fundamental research. Velocity measurements with high spatial resolution are necessary. Laser Doppler anemometry allows nonintrusive precise measurements, but the spatial resolution is limited by the size of the measurement volume to approximately 50 microm. A new laser Doppler profile sensor is proposed, enabling determination of the velocity profile inside the measurement volume. Two fringe systems with contrary fringe spacing gradients are generated to determine the position as well as the velocity of passing tracer particles. Physically discriminating between the two measuring channels is done by a frequency-division-multiplexing technique with acousto-optic modulators. A frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser and a fiber-optic measuring head were employed, resulting in a portable and flexible sensor. In the center of the measurement volume of approximately 1-mm length, a spatial resolution of approximately 5 microm was obtained. Spatially resolved measurements of the Blasius velocity profile are presented. Small velocities as low as 3 cm/s are measured. The sensor is applied in a wind tunnel to determine the wall shear stress of a boundary layer flow. All measurement results show good agreement with the theoretical prediction.

Measurement uncertainty and temporal resolution of Doppler global velocimetry using laser frequency modulation

A Doppler global velocimetry (DGV) measurement technique with a sinusoidal laser frequency modulation is presented for measuring velocity fields in fluid flows. A cesium absorption cell is used for the conversion of the Doppler shift frequency into a change in light intensity, which can be measured by a fiber coupled avalanche photo diode array. Because of a harmonic analysis of the detector element signals, no errors due to detector offset drifts occur and no reference detector array is necessary for measuring the scattered light power. Hence, large errors such as image misalignment errors and beam split errors are eliminated. Furthermore, the measurement system is also capable of achieving high measurement rates up to the modulation frequency (100 kHz) and thus opens new perspectives to multiple point investigations of instationary flows, e.g., for turbulence analysis. A fundamental measurement uncertainty analysis based on the theory of Cramér and Rao is given and validated by experimental results. The current relation between time resolution and measurement uncertainty, as well as further optimization strategies, are discussed.

Precise micro flow rate measurements by a laser Doppler velocity profile sensor with time division multiplexing

This paper presents the measurement of flow rate inside a microchannel by using a laser Doppler technique. For this application a novel laser Doppler velocity profile sensor has been developed. Instead of parallel fringe systems, two superposed fan-like fringe systems with opposite gradients are employed to determine the velocity distribution inside the microchannel directly. The sensor utilizes the time division multiplexing technique to discriminate both fringe systems. A velocity uncertainty of 0.18% and a spatial resolution of 960 nm are demonstrated in the flow, which is the highest spatially resolved measurement by a laser Doppler technique published to date. Flow rate measurements, in the range of 30 µl min−1, with a statistical uncertainty of 5 × 10−4 are further presented. In comparison to a reference, by precise weighing, the mean deviation between both measurement principles amounts to 1%. With the advantage of high spatial resolution with simultaneous low velocity uncertainty, the laser Doppler velocity profile sensor offers a new tool for microfluidic diagnostics, e.g. in lab-on-a-chip systems or for drug delivery, which requires very small flow rates.

Laser Doppler distance sensor using phase evaluation

This paper presents a novel optical sensor which allows simultaneous measurements of axial position and tangential velocity of moving solid state objects. An extended laser Doppler velocimeter setup is used with two slightly tilted interference fringe systems. The distance to a solid state surface can be determined via a phase evaluation. The phase laser Doppler distance sensor offers a distance resolution of 150 nm and a total position uncertainty below 1 microm. Compared to conventional measurement techniques, such as triangulation, the distance resolution is independent of the lateral surface velocity. This advantage enables precise distance and shape measurements of fast rotating surfaces.

Laser-Doppler velocity profile sensor with submicrometer spatial resolution that employs fiber optics and a diffractive lens

We report a novel laser-Doppler velocity profile sensor for microfluidic and nanofluidic applications and turbulence research. The sensors design is based on wavelength-division multiplexing. The high dispersion of a diffractive lens is used to generate a measurement volume with convergent and divergent interference fringes by means of two laser wavelengths. Evaluation of the scattered light from tracers allows velocity gradients to be measured in flows with submicrometer spatial resolution inside a measurement volume of 700-microm length. Using diffraction optics and fiber optics, we achieved a miniaturized and robust velocity profile sensor for highly resolved velocity measurements.

Spatial resolving laser Doppler velocity profile sensor using slightly tilted fringe systems and phase evaluation

In this paper we report on a differential laser Doppler velocimeter which offers spatially resolved measurements in the probe volume. For the first time, two laser wavelengths are employed to generate two interference fringe systems with identical fringe spacing which are slightly tilted towards each other. The relative phase shift varies linearly with the position along the optical axis, thus allowing spatially resolved measurements. In the centre of the measurement volume a spatial resolution in the nanometre range is achieved. The sensor was applied in a wind tunnel for the determination of the wall shear stress of a laminar flat-plate flow without mechanical traversing. Spatially resolved measurements of the Blasius velocity profile are presented. All results agree well with the theoretical prediction.

Laser Doppler field sensor for high resolution flow velocity imaging without camera

In this paper we present a laser sensor for highly spatially resolved flow imaging without using a camera. The sensor is an extension of the principle of laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). Instead of a parallel fringe system, diverging and converging fringes are employed. This method facilitates the determination of the tracer particle position within the measurement volume and leads to an increased spatial and velocity resolution compared to conventional LDA. Using a total number of four fringe systems the flow is resolved in two spatial dimensions and the orthogonal velocity component. Since no camera is used, the resolution of the sensor is not influenced by pixel size effects. A spatial resolution of 4 microm in the x direction and 16 microm in the y direction and a relative velocity resolution of 1x10(-3) have been demonstrated up to now. As a first application we present the velocity measurement of an injection nozzle flow. The sensor is also highly suitable for applications in nano- and microfluidics, e.g., for the measurement of flow rates.