Laser light scattering in spray system control

Abstract

A technique applicable to spray systems research and control, based on the measurements of the spatial frequency of scattered light intensity, is presented. Phase Doppler anemometry - a frequently used technique in spray characterization - fails in the cases of mixing of the scattering modes (e.g. mixing of reflected and refracted light). The technique presented here takes advantage of that mixing: it measures the spatial frequency of the fringes formed by interference of reflected and refracted rays. The spatial frequency was measured with appropriately installed photodiode array and fft of its output values. The calibration calculation is presented and simulation results are analysed and discussed.