A Real-Time Process Analysis System for the Simultaneous Acquisition of Spray Characteristics

Abstract

In this paper, a Real-Time Process Analysis System for the characterization and measurement of spray and atomization processes is presented. Contrary to indirect measure methods such as phase Doppler interferometry (PDI) or laser diffraction, the proposed imaging system provides reliable measurement results for properties not only of (almost) spherical but also of arbitrarily shaped objects in spray and atomization processes. Compared to classical high-speed cameras which are based on the acquisition and storage of high-speed image sequences, the proposed Real-Time Process Analysis System evaluates a spray or atomization process for an arbitrary time period by processing each image frame in real time and transmitting the extracted measurement data to a PC. This allows the simultaneous measurement of a variety of spray properties. One example is the simultaneous measurement of the droplet or particle size and size distribution as well as the detection of pulsation and the pulsation frequency. Another example for the simultaneous detection of spray properties is the detection of droplet collisions and the measurement of the sizes of the colliding and collided droplets. Furthermore, filament formation or filament networks can be detected with the proposed system. Beyond the simultaneous measurement of various spray characteristics, the process analysis system computes all spray characteristics in real time so that these characteristics are immediately available in the experimental setup.