High-speed Color Camera Research Articles

An improved multiple discrete time system for operational modal analysis of a slanted rotational blade under natural excitation via a long-range tracking continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system

A long-range tracking continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (LTCSLDV) system is able to continuously track the speed and simultaneously sweep the surface of a distanced rotational blade with predicted paths. During the long-range continuous scanning, laser beams including raw responses with modal parameter information are transmitted from the measured distanced rotational blade to the laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). However, classical signal processing methods for raw responses obtained from a LTCSLDV measurement, which are the polynomial and demodulation method, cannot implement standard modal estimation. Its reason is that continuous scanning responses includes density virtual measuring points and one of its results is that some significant modal parameter, especially damping ratio, cannot be estimated directly. This work provides an improved multiple discrete time system (MDTS) for LTCSLDV measurements that is capable of extracting the responses of multiple virtual measuring points on the virtual scanning path with equally intervals as if these responses are measured at fixed pseudo-measurement points. Therefore, extensively complex signal processing can be implemented on the processed responses through program or commercial software only if the amount of the data of them is sufficient for modal analysis. The measurements were performed on a slanted rotational blade (SRB) in real operational condition with the considerations of the pitch angle of the SRB and the tilt angle of the direction of laser beam emitted from a LDV. The predicted tracking and scanning path of the laser spot in long-range measurements is realized through visual identification with a high-speed color camera.

Impact of flash boiling spray on soot generation of a rich fuel–air mixture under various ambient pressures

Particulate emission is one of the critical challenges for the modern gasoine direct injection (GDI) engines. Especially under cold start conditions, the global equivalence ratio inside the cylinder is often set quite rich, leading to the generation of a large amount of soot. The fuel distribution state, such as homogeneous mixing and heterogeneous mixing with local rich pockets prior to the combustion is the key factor affecting soot generation under cold start conditions in GDI engines. Flash boiling injection, as a method to promote fuel air mixing, could be a potential solution to sooting problems of rich mixture combustion under cold start conditions. However, the unclear influences of flash boiling spray to fuel–air mixing state and subsequent soot generation pose a challenge to soot reduction in GDI engines. This work aims to study the effect of various flash boiling degrees on fuel–air mixture formation and subsequent soot generation utilizing a customized constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC) incorporated with the gasoline direct injection scheme under moderately cold start ambient temperature of 30 °C. A global high equivalence ratio of 1.7 representing extremely rich combustions under cold start conditions is selected for strong sooting propensity. By setting different fuel temperatures (Tf= 30 °C and 120 °C) and various ambient pressures (Pa= 40 kPa, 100 kPa and 160 kPa), various spray flash boiling states (subcooled, transitional flash boiling and flare flash boiling sprays) are achieved, and finally various fuel distribution states of rich mixtures prior to combustion are obtained. High speed color camera and soot sampling TEM grids were used to capture and evaluate the characteristics of spray atomization, combustion and soot aggregate structures. Based on this investigation, the effect of flash boiling degree on fuel–air mixing and subsequent soot generation is analyzed. The results show that flash boiling spray enhances fuel atomization and produces much more homogeneous rich mixture with smaller local rich pockets and richer global premixed gaseous portion. Over-rich global premixed mixture combustion is prone to nuclei inception and agglomeration, producing soot aggregates with small primary particles. While the local rich pocket combustion is prone to surface growth, producing larger primary particles. Flash boiling spray could reduce the size of soot particles under cold start conditions by generating smaller local rich pockets.

Photoluminescence-based simultaneous thermometry and velocimetry in non-aqueous liquid

The heat transfer mechanism at the materials interface, such as gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, and solid-liquid interface, gives great insight into understanding the geometrical change in the interface over time. The temperature- and velocity-field measurements with respect to the liquid as the target material are essential to study the mechanism in spatiotemporal manner without disturbing an interaction region of the liquid. The simultaneous thermometry and velocimetry methods for non-aqueous liquid are studied and introduced based on the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and particle imaging velocimetry (PIV). Toluene is chosen as a non-aquatic liquid in which two different luminophores are dissolved. These two luminophores as well as the PIV particle emit at different wavelengths that are simultaneously acquired through three color channels of a high-speed color camera. The measurement system satisfying the proposed method is discussed and validated in a natural convection flow.

Fuel modification flash boiling atomization and combustion in reciprocating engines

With the current goals and regulations in reducing carbon emissions, flash boiling atomization is considered a promising method for liquid fuel energy conversions, for instance, alternative fuel combustions and zero/negative carbon fuel combustions. One scheme to enable flash boiling atomization is to dope highly volatile fuel into low volatile fuels and trigger phase change during combustion, but the impacts of such modifications on the performance of the combustor, especially soot formation mechanisms and gaseous emissions characteristics, are not illustrated systematically yet. This investigation focuses on the combustion of commercial gasoline fuel doped with iso-pentane at different volume fractions. The combustion experiments are made using a reciprocating optical engine facility with spark-ignition direct-injection combustion modes. Typical engine conditions such as low fuel temperature and high ambient pressure conditions are examined. The flame chemiluminescence is captured by a high-speed color camera, and the emission characteristics are quantified by emission analyzers. The results show that flash boiling achieved via fuel modification can generally reduce soot formation by suppressing spray impingement and wall film combustion. A more homogenous fuel-air mixture can further reduce the hot spots/rich combustions from unburnt droplets or fuel-rich zones.

Hyperspectral image reconstruction from colored natural flame luminosity imaging in a tri-fuel optical engine

The detection of chemiluminescence from various radicals and molecules in a hydrocarbon flame can provide valuable information on the rate of local heat release, combustion stability, and combustion completeness. In this study, chemiluminescence from the combustion process is detected using a high-speed color camera within the broadband spectrum of visible light. Whereon, a novel hyperspectral reconstruction approach based on the physically plausible spectral reconstruction (PPSR) is employed to reconstruct the spectral chemiluminescence signals from 400 to 700 nm with a resolution of 10 nm to provide 31 different spectral channels. The reconstructed key chemiluminescence signals (e.g., CH*, CH2O*, C2*, and CO2*) from the color images are further analyzed to characterize the chemical kinetics and combustion processes under engine conditions. The spectral chemiluminescence evolution with engine crank angle is identified to comprehend the effect of H2 fraction on flame characteristics and combustion kinetics. Additionally, in this study, a detailed kinetic mechanism is adopted to deepen the theoretical understanding and describe the spectral chemiluminescence from H2/CH4 and H2/CH4/n-dodecane flames at relevant conditions for various species including OH*, CH*, C2*, and CO2*. The results indicate that the PPSR is an adequately reliable approach to reconstructing spectral wavelengths based on chemiluminescence signals from the color images, which can potentially provide qualitative information about the evolution of various species during combustion. Here, the reconstructed chemiluminescence images show less than 1% errors compared to the raw images in red, green, and blue channels. Furthermore, the reconstructed chemiluminescence trends of CH*, CH2O*, C2*, and CO2* show a good agreement with the detailed kinetics 0D simulation.

Equivalence Ratio Modelling of Premixed Propane Flame by Multiple Linear Regression Using Flame Color and Spatial Characteristics

Abstract Equivalence ratio (Φ) is one of the most important parameters in combustion diagnostics. In previous studies, flame color characteristics have been widely applied to model the Φ of premixed hydrocarbon flames. The flame spatial characteristics also change with the varying Φ. In this paper, a high-speed color camera was employed to capture the premixed propane flame images under different Φ conditions (Φ = 0.93 to 1.53). Then, the relationship between the spatial characteristics and the Φ variation was investigated. The area and height of propane premixed flames perform a strong sensitive response to the Φ variation. Based on the research above, the Φ measurement models were constructed using color and spatial characteristics. A comparison was made between the color characteristics (Color-Φ) model and the color-spatial characteristics (Multi-dimensional-Φ) model. Both models were applied to a set of color images of a premixed propane flame, and the result indicates that the Multi-dimensional-Φ model performs with higher accuracy.

Effect of Hydrogen Enhancement on Natural Flame Luminosity of Tri-Fuel Combustion in an Optical Engine

A novel combustion mode, namely tri-fuel (TF) combustion using a diesel pilot to ignite the premixed methane–hydrogen–air (CH4–H2–air) mixtures, was experimentally investigated under various H2 fractions (0%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%) and ultra-lean conditions (equivalence ratio of φ= 0.5). The overarching objective is to evaluate the effect of H2 fraction on flame characteristics and engine performance. To visualize the effect of H2 fraction on the combustion process and flame characteristics, a high-speed color camera (Photron SA-Z) was employed for natural flame luminosity (NFL) imaging to visualize the instantaneous TF combustion process. The engine performance, flame characteristics, and flame stability are characterized based on cylinder pressure and color natural flame images. Both pressure-based and optical imaging-based analyses indicate that adding H2 into the CH4–air mixture can dramatically improve engine performance, such as combustion efficiency, flame speed, and flame stability. The visualization results of NFL show that the addition of H2 promotes the high-temperature reaction, which exhibits a brighter bluish flame during the start of combustion and main combustion, however, a brighter orangish flame during the end of combustion. Since the combustion is ultra-lean, increasing the H2 concentration in the CH4–air mixture dramatically improves the flame propagation, which might reduce the CH4 slip. However, higher H2 concentration in the CH4–air mixture might lead to a high-temperature reaction that sequentially promotes soot emissions, which emit a bright yellowish flame.

Study on Measurement Method of Oil Film Thickness at EHL Contact Point in Traction Drives under High Speed by Using GMFT Method

In recent years, high-speed motors combined with traction-type reduction reducers have been considered to reduce the size and weight of electric vehicle power systems and increase their efficiency. A traction drive is a device that applies a strong load to two rolling elements and transmits power through the resulting EHL contact point. However, there is a concern that the increase in peripheral speed causes an increase in the thickness of the oil film in the contact point, resulting in a decrease in the transmission of power. In this study, the GMFT method, which enables one-shot measurement, was combined with a high-speed color camera to successfully capture the outline of the contact point under higher speed conditions than in existing studies.

Comparison of pyrometry and thermography for thermal analysis of thermite reactions.

This study examines the thermal behavior of a laser ignited thermite composed of aluminum and bismuth trioxide. Temperature data were collected during the reaction using a four-color pyrometer and a high-speed color camera modified for thermography. The two diagnostics were arranged to collect data simultaneously, with similar fields of view and with similar data acquisition rates, so that the two techniques could be directly compared. Results show that at initial and final stages of the reaction, a lower signal-to-noise ratio affects the accuracy of the measured temperatures. Both diagnostics captured the same trends in transient thermal behavior, but the average temperatures measured with thermography were about 750 K higher than those from the pyrometer. This difference was attributed to the lower dynamic range of the thermography camera's image sensor, which was unable to resolve cooler temperatures in the field of view as well as the photomultiplier tube sensors in the pyrometer. Overall, while the camera could not accurately capture the average temperature of a scene, its ability to capture peak temperatures and spatial data make it the preferred method for tracking thermal behavior in thermite reactions.

Differences in pool-fire induced soot production between subcooled spray and flash boiling spray in a DISI engine

Pool fire and fuel-rich combustion have been considered the primary soot/particulate matter sources for gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, which is a crucial issue for commercial and passenger vehicles. Flash boiling atomization, achieved by heating the fuel before injection, can notably improve spray atomization and reduce the occurrence of pool fire, thus reduce soot emission under extreme conditions. This investigation compared the performance of subcooled spray combustions and flash boiling spray combustions with the use of an optical engine facility. The optical engine was equipped with an optical liner so that side views of the combustion can be captured with a high-speed color camera. The high-speed measurement data from early injection conditions were then analyzed with the HSV color model to investigate the flame characteristics in the premixed, infrared, and diffusion flame regions. Indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) and particulate number (PN) under different conditions were also analyzed under different conditions. It was found that the combustion performance using flash boiling sprays is superior to that using subcooled sprays, and the difference between the two combustion modes was discussed with the use of the flame model.

Study of flash boiling combustion with different fuel injection timings in an optical engine using digital image processing diagnostics

Flash boiling atomization is considered a potential solution to multiple issues encountered in fuel atomization for internal combustion engine applications. It has been demonstrated that flash boiling combustion can reduce soot emission under cold-start conditions, while the analysis was still preliminary and limited to engine cold-start conditions. This work investigates the performance of flash boiling combustion in comparison to sub-cooled spray combustions realized with the variation of injection timing. An optical engine facility was used to capture the combustion characteristics with a high-speed color camera, with the temperature of the engine coolant maintained at 60 °C. HSV color model and modified digital CH*/C2* ratio (excess air intensity) to study different flame regions and local combustion richness in the optical engine. The results show that under the conditions tested, flash boiling can improve the efficiency of the engine while reducing the PN emission simultaneously. Furthermore, it was seen that flash boiling combustion could yield a faster flame speed, uniform distribution of flames and less rich mixtures. Finally, color model analysis for transient and averaged flame images is also in good agreement with actual engine performance.

Visualization of soot formation from evaporating fuel films by laser-induced fluorescence and incandescence

Late-evaporating liquid fuel wall-films are considered a major source of soot in spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engines. In this study, a direct-injection model experiment was developed to visualize soot formation in the vicinity of evaporating fuel films. Isooctane is injected by a multi-hole injector into the optically accessible part of a constant-flow facility at atmospheric pressure. Some of the liquid fuel impinges on the quartz-glass windows and forms fuel films. After spark ignition, a turbulent flame front propagates through the chamber, and subsequently sooting combustion is detected near the fuel films. Overlapping laser light sheets at 532 and 1064 nm excite laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) -potential soot precursors- and laser-induced incandescence (LII) of soot, respectively. The 532 nm light sheet has low fluence to avoid the excitation of LII. The LII and LIF signals are detected simultaneously and spectrally separated on two cameras. In complementary line-of-sight imaging, the fuel spray, chemiluminescence, and soot incandescence are captured with a high-speed color camera. In separate experiments, toluene is added to the isooctane as a fluorescent tracer and excited by pulsed 266 nm flood illumination. From images of the LIF signal, the fuel-films’ thickness and mass evolutions are evaluated. The films survive the entire combustion event. PAH LIF is found in close vicinity of the evaporating fuel films. Soot is found spatially separated from, but adjacent to the PAH, both with high spatial intermittency. Average images additionally indicate that soot is formed with a much higher spatial intermittency than PAH. Images from the color camera show soot incandescence earlier and in a similar region compared to soot LII. Chemiluminescence downstream of the soot-forming region is thought to indicate the subsequent oxidation of fuel, soot, and PAH.

Whole field measurements to quantify the thermal impact of single vapor bubble under nucleate flow boiling regime

The work reports on simultaneous measurement of bubble dynamics and thermal field to understand the local effects of bubble motion on thermal boundary layer behavior and heat transfer characteristics under subcooled flow boiling conditions. Single vapor bubble was generated using a specially designed ITO glass heater to avoid the phenomenological complexities and to obtain reproducible data. Flow boiling experiments were carried out in a vertically oriented rectangular channel with water for varying Reynolds numbers (Re = 600–4800), keeping constant subcooling level and power input. The thermal field around the vapor bubble along with the dynamics has been visualized using a non-intrusive optical technique; rainbow schlieren deflectometry, which was configured with a high-speed color camera to acquire high spatial and temporal resolution. The recorded experimental data have been analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively and the obtained results have been presented in the form of whole field temperature distribution, the dynamics of thermal boundary layer, local heat transfer coefficients etc. It was observed that the effect of bubble formation on the wall temperature variation, thermal boundary layer and heat transfer coefficient was relatively higher during the growth period (until the bubble lift-off) compared to the waiting period after the lift-off of the bubble. The experimental results showed that the bubble-induced heat transfer significantly enhance the overall heat transfer rate from the heated surface while the degree of enhancement was observed to be reducing with increasing Reynolds number.

Cycle-to-cycle variations of dual-fuel combustion in an optically accessible engine

Cyclic variations constitute an inherent consequence of the flow, thermal and concentration field variations between cycles. They are understood to lead to lower efficiency and higher emissions. The current investigation aims to evaluate the cycle-to-cycle variations (CCVs) based on 2D visualization and cylinder pressure in an optically accessible heavy-duty engine fueled with methane (main fuel) and diesel (pilot fuel). A high-speed color camera is employed to measure the combustion behavior based on natural luminosity (NL). Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is applied to reconstruct and analyze the images. The POD-based coefficient of variation (COV) is implemented to evaluate the cyclic variability, along with the pressure-based and global intensity-based COV. This coefficient is then adopted to discriminate the coherent and incoherent parts from the fluctuations in the luminosity field. The POD-based and global intensity-based COV presents the variations in the luminosity field, which can provide information on chemical kinetics, while pressure-based COV provides a general description of the cyclic fluctuation of thermodynamics. To extract more information from the NL images, the color-intensity COV analysis based on the intensity separated from RGB channels is adopted to estimate the CCVs from the aspect of spectral emissions (excited and ionized radicals in the flame). Finally, the effects of methane lambda, pilot fuel rate and charge air temperature on the CCVs were analyzed systematically. The results revealed that richer methane conditions has an inhibitive effect on the CCVs. The appearance of the CCVs were determined by the ignition characteristics of the pilot fuel. A critical point was found in charge air temperature, when the charge air temperature lower than the critical point, the increase of the charge air temperature has a promotive effect on the CCVs; after that, it has an inhibitive effect on the CCVs.

Time-resolved temperature characterization of a hypersonic shock layer using a single high-speed color camera for aerospace design applications

Two-color ratio pyrometry (TCRP) using a high-speed color camera has been used for temperature characterization of a hypersonic shock layer. The camera, used as a pyrometer, was calibrated in-house using a monochromator to determine its spectral responsivity and was used to acquire time-resolved images of the flow field over test models at a frame rate of 20 000 fps to understand the evolution of temperature inside the shock region. The optical efficiency of the monochromator and other optical equipment were determined separately and corrected for. Two test models, a flat-faced cylinder of diameter 70 mm and a hemisphere of diameter 80 mm, were used for the experiments to study the effect of geometry on the results. Experiments were performed in a free-piston-driven shock tunnel at a stagnation enthalpy of 5.2 MJ kg−1. The average steady-state temperature in the stagnation region in the cylinder was about 3650 K ± 3% (uncertainty in the shock layer due to camera noise), and for the hemisphere it was 3300 K ± 6%. The resolved temperature was 14% higher than that obtained from a similar, but time-integrated, measurement obtained using a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera. Steady 2D numerical simulations were performed to reconstruct the 3D flow assuming azimuthal symmetry, and an algorithm was developed to use the shape of the temperature profile along the line-of-sight (LOS) derived from simulations to predict the actual stagnation-plane temperature from the experimental LOS-integrated TCRP-derived temperature. The actual temperature in the stagnation region on the vertical plane of symmetry (stagnation plane) for the cylinder and the hemisphere were higher by 2.76% and 1.77%, respectively, than the corresponding TCRP-derived LOS-integrated temperature. The results are promising for future use in determining intense temperature gradients and heat flux in the vicinity of space vehicles and for the design of efficient thermal protection systems.

Experimental and numerical study on thermodynamic characteristics in a Z-shaped evaporating pilot-flameholder

Reliable ignition and flame stability are crucial, particularly for the increasing expansion of flight envelopes. Herein, a novel Z-shaped evaporating pilot-flameholder is put forward to overcome critical challenges; further, the flameholder's ignition, blowout, and fully-developed flame characteristics under the operating conditions of turbine-based combined cycle combustors are experimentally investigated with the numerical flow field. The dynamic ignition process and the equivalence ratio of flame are acquired using a high-speed color camera and processed using an image-processing algorithm. The experimental results confirm the high ignition and blowout performance of the Z-shaped evaporating flameholder resulting from the superiority of its evaporating atomizer and Z-shaped structure. The ignition process of the Z-shaped flameholder simultaneously generates the diffusion and premixed flame types. The ignition performance of Z-shaped flameholder is significantly affected by the premixed degree of the pilot flame, which is a comprehensive index of the fuel atomization, evaporation, and turbulent mixing. The reflux rate and the premixed degree after ignition are little affected by the operating conditions, and the blowout performance is mainly influenced by the flow residence time and temperature. Further, the local equivalence ratio of the flame is acquired by calibrating the green/blue and equivalence ratios. Changing the equivalence ratio alters the double-reaction-zone feature in the Z-shaped evaporating flameholder. Under low fuel-lean conditions, flame stability is mainly contributed by the secondary reaction zone.

Real-time high-dynamic-range fringe acquisition for 3D shape measurement with a RGB camera

This paper introduces a novel real-time, high-dynamic-range (HDR) three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement method using a RGB camera. The proposed method takes advantage of two effects to realize HDR 3D fringe acquisition for 3D shape measurements: (1) the different responses of a RGB camera’s three channels to a single color light source can be utilized to produce fringe images with different intensity levels; (2) the projector’s dark time can be utilized to produce bright versus dark intensity contrast if bit-wise binary patterns are used. Experiments demonstrate the real-time capabilities of the proposed method by dynamic 3D shape measurements (with a maximum camera frame rate of 166 Hz). Given that a bit-wise defocused binary pattern projection is adopted, the proposed HDR method has the potential for high-speed applications if a high-speed color camera is present.

Combustion stability study of partially premixed combustion by high-pressure multiple injections with low-octane fuel

This work is the second part of a study on low-load combustion stability for gasoline partially premixed combustion. In part 1, we investigated the sensitivity of the intake air temperature to combustion stability. In part 2, we evaluate the potential of the multiple-injection strategy along with the intake air temperature sensitivity to promote low-load combustion stability using low-octane gasoline fuel. The experiments were carried out in a fully transparent, single-cylinder, compression-ignition engine. The spray/wall interaction, particularly the fuel trapping in the piston crevice zone, was visualized by fuel-tracer planar laser-induced fluorescence for the first time in experiments. The in-cylinder combustion process of natural flame luminosity was captured by a high-speed color camera. By employing a multiple-injection strategy, the minimum intake air temperature can be further reduced from 70 °C (single injection) to 50 °C for target stable combustion. The combustion stability and engine performance were further improved by increasing the fuel injection pressure. For instance, with the triple-injection strategy at a higher fuel-injection pressure of 800 bar, the indicated mean effective pressure was increased by 24% when compared to that of the single-injection strategy. A stronger interaction among fuel spray jets, the piston, and the cylinder wall was observed for multiple injections with higher injection pressure, leading to higher unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) along with a more pronounced pool fire in the squish zone. The double-injection strategy resulted in lower UHC and CO emissions when compared to the triple-injection strategy. Applying a narrow spray angle injector with re-entrant combustion chamber is suggested for optimizing the spray/wall interaction.

Effects of enhanced tumble ratios on the in-cylinder performance of a gasoline direct injection optical engine

Improving engine efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions are the everlasting pursuit for engine researchers. While increasing tumble ratio of the engine intake airflow was shown to benefit the engine performance, rarely any systematic study has been carried out on the effect of tumble flow on engine in-cylinder performance and its mechanism. To fill in this gap, we designed tumble deflectors with desired tumble ratio using computer-aided design and computational fluid dynamics in this work. Afterwards, tumble deflectors with a tumble ratio of 1.5 and 2.2 were 3D printed. Finally firing tests of the optical engine installed with different tumble deflectors were performed. A high-speed color camera and pressure transducer were used to record crank angle-resolved flame natural luminosity and cylinder pressure. Results show that higher tumble ratio leads to faster blue flame development and less yellow flame generation, which indicates an increase in flame burning rate and a decrease of the soot formation. This is closely related to the enhanced turbulence kinetic energy before ignition as was shown in the computational fluid dynamics simulation. Besides, the engine effective pressure is increased by higher tumble ratio, but the cycle to cycle variation of flame characteristics first decreases then increases with tumble ratio.

High-speed stereo-digital image correlation using a single color high-speed camera.

A simple and practical high-speed stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) technique using a single off-the-shelf high-speed color CMOS camera is described in this work. By using the high-speed color CMOS camera and suitable optical filters, the recorded color images can be directly separated into red and blue channel sub-images with negligible color cross-talk between sub-channel images, which offers evident efficiency and accuracy advantages over the existing technique we proposed recently [Opt. Lasers Eng.95, 17 (2017)OLENDN0143-816610.1016/j.optlaseng.2017.03.009]. These separated sub-channel images can then be processed by regular stereo-DIC to retrieve the desired kinematic fields on the test object surface. The accuracy and precision of the established high-speed stereo-DIC system were characterized by measuring the displacements of a stationary object, and the results show good agreement with theoretical predications. To show the broad utility and practicality of the proposed method, three typical experiments, involving (i) transient displacement and velocity measurement of a rotating fan; (ii) full-field vibration measurement of a rectangular aluminum panel; and (iii) transient 3D surface shape, displacement, and strain fields measurement of a balloon during the whole explosion procedure, were carried out. The results show that, by using a proper high-speed color camera, high-speed 3D shape, displacement and deformation measurements can be realized in a cost-effective and easy-to-implement manner. The proposed technique demonstrates great potential in impact engineering, explosion, and vibration tests.