Laser-based temperature imaging close to surfaces with toluene and NO-LIF

Abstract

Two novel techniques based on Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) were applied to measure gas-phase temperature distributions in boundary layers close to wall surfaces. Singleline toluene-LIF thermometry was used to image temperature in a nitrogen gas flow above a heated wall. The nitrogen gas flow was doped with evaporated toluene. When excited at 266 nm, the toluene LIF-signal shows an exponential dependence on temperature. This behavior was used to calculate absolute temperatures from LIF images after calibration at known conditions. The second technique, multi-line NO-LIF thermometry was applied to image temperature in the quenching boundary layer close to a metal wall located on a flat flame burner. A small amount of nitric oxide was mixed into the air/methane mixture. NO molecules were excited in the A-X (0, 0)-band at 225 nm. NO-LIF excitation spectra were acquired by tuning the excimer laser wavelength and recording the NO LIF-signal with an ICCD camera. Absolute temperatures were calculated for every pixel by fitting simulated excitation spectra to the experimental data. Temperature distributions close to the wall surface were measured at two different flow-rate conditions. A high nominal spatial resolution of 0.016 mm/pixel in direction perpendicular to the wall was reached. Wall surface temperatures were recorded simultaneously by embedded thermocouples and compared with gas-phase temperature near the wall surface.