Large- and very-large-scale motions in channel and boundary-layer flows.

Large-scale motions (LSMs; having wavelengths up to 2-3 pipe radii) and very-LSMs (having wavelengths more than 3 pipe radii) have been shown to carry more than half of the kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress in a fully developed pipe flow. Studies using essentially the same methods of measurement and analysis have been extended to channel and zero-pressure-gradient boundary-layer flows to determine whether large structures appear in these canonical wall flows and how their properties compare with that of the pipe flow. The very large scales, especially those of the boundary layer, are shorter than the corresponding scales in the pipe flow, but otherwise share a common behaviour, suggesting that they arise from similar mechanism(s) aside from the modifying influences of the outer geometries. Spectra of the net force due to the Reynolds shear stress in the channel and boundary layer flows are similar to those in the pipe flow. They show that the very-large-scale and main turbulent motions act to decelerate the flow in the region above the maximum of the Reynolds shear stress.

Observation of yeast cell movement and aggregation in a small-scale MHz-ultrasonic standing wave field.

Aggregation of suspended yeast cells in a small-scale ultrasonic standing wave field has been monitored and quantified. The aggregation effect is based on the acoustic radiation force, which concentrates the cells in clumps. The ultrasonic chamber employed (1.9 MHz, one wavelength pathlength) had a sonication volume of 60 microl. The aggregation process was observed from above the transducer through a transparent glass reflector. A distinct, reproducible, pattern of clumps formed rapidly in the sound field. The sound pressure was estimated experimentally to be of the order of 1 MPa. Microscopic observations of the formation of a single clump were recorded onto a PC. The time dependent movement patterns and travelling velocities of the cells during the aggregation process were extracted by particle image velocimetry analysis. A time dependent change was seen in the particle motion pattern during approach to its completion of clump formation after 45 s. Streaming eddies were set-up during the first couple of seconds. The scale of the eddies was consistent with Rayleigh micro-streaming theory. An increase in the travelling velocity of the cells was observed after 30 s from initially about 400 microm s(-1) to about 1 mm s(-1). The influence of a number of mechanisms on particle behaviour (e.g. micro-streaming, particle interactions and convective flow) is considered. The experimental set-up introduced here is a powerful tool for aggregation studies in ultrasonic standing waves and lays the foundation for future quantitative experiments on the individual contributions of the different mechanisms.

Phase-conjugate holographic system for high-resolution particle-image velocimetry.

A novel holographic particle-image velocimeter system has been developed for the study of threedimensional (3-D) fluid velocity fields. The recording system produces 3-D particle images with a resolution, a signal-to-noise ratio, an accuracy, and derived velocity fields that are comparable to high-quality two-dimensional photographic particle-image velocimetry (PIV). The high image resolution is accomplished through the use of low f-number optics, a fringe-stabilized processing chemistry, and a phase conjugate play-back geometry that compensates for aberrations in the imaging system. In addition, the system employs a reference multiplexed, off-axis geometry for the determination of velocity directions with the cross-correlation technique, and a stereo camera geometry for the determination of the three velocity components. The combination of the imaging and reconstruction subsystems makes the analysis of volumetric PIV domains feasible.

Electrooptical image shifting for particle image velocimetry.

The direction of fluid motion can be determined in particle image velocimetry (and laser speckle velocimetry) if the image field is spatially shifted between the first and second exposures, so that the most negative fluid velocity still produces a positive particle image displacement. Two new techniques are described which accomplish very fast accurate image shifting using electrooptical hardware. These methods involve regulating the polarization of light scattered from the seeding particles by switching the polarization of the illuminating beam, and placing a birefringent unaxial plate in front of the photographing lens to displace the particle image between illuminating pulses.

Image shifting technique to resolve directional ambiguity in double-pulsed velocity.

Image shifting provides a method of determining the direction of displacement, and hence the velocity, for all types of pulsed laser velocimeter. It is independent of the scattering properties of the particles and/or the intensity of the illumination of the first image with respect to the second image, and it is capable of high performance. With rotating mirror systems, image shifting can be used to offset negative velocities up to 10 m/s. With electrooptic systems, it is estimated that image shifting can be used at velocities up to 500 m/s.

Pulsed laser technique application to liquid and gaseous flows and the scattering power of seed materials.

Mie scattering computations have been performed for light scattered by small particles from a pulsed sheet of laser illumination and collected and imaged by a camera lens. From these computations the smallest particles that can be photographed in various fluid measurement situations, including air and water, have been determined in terms of system parameters such as laser power, light sheet geometry, f/No., and photographic film properties. The particle scattering requirements of the individual particle image mode and the speckle mode are compared.

Self-scaling of clipped photon correlations.

The estimates of photoemission rate correlations that are obtained by clipped, e.g., one-bit, correlation techniques are in general distorted by the clipping, unless scaling techniques are used. It is shown that the Pois-son statistics of photoemission processes are such that the processes are inherently self-scaling when the range of signal fluctuations is contained in the range of inherent noise fluctuations. Self-scaling occurs, for example, when the total mean emission rate is large compared with the time varying signal rate. It permits clipped correlation to be used without distortion.

Laser anemometer signals: visibility characteristics and application to particle sizing.

The signal visibility characteristics of a dual beam laser anemometer operated in a backscatter mode have been investigated both experimentally and analytically. The analysis is based on Mie's electromagnetic scattering theory for spherical particles and is exact within the limitations of the scattering theory. It is shown that the signal visibility is a function of the ratio of the particle diameter to the fringe spacing in a certain, restricted case; but more generally it also depends on the Mie scattering size parameter, refractive index, the illuminating beam polarization, and the size, shape, and location of the light collecting aperture. The character of backscatter signal visibility differs significantly from the forward scatter case, and it is concluded that backscatter measurements of particle diameters using the visibility sizing technique may not always be possible. Restrictions on the forward scatter application of the visibility sizing method are also discussed.