A digital image analysis technique for quantitative characterisation of high-speed sprays

A digital image analysis technique developed as a particle or droplet sizing tool and capable of measuring non-spherical objects has been examined in terms of its suitability for quantitative measurements in moderately dense sprays and in particular the potential capability for the characterisation of small diameter, high-speed two-phase flows by employing high-intensity pulsed lasers for illumination. In order to evaluate robustness of the image analysis technique (PDIA), measurement certainty and also to assess whether measurement performance is sensitive to the optical set-up, the technique was applied to data obtained from a hollow cone spray via two independent optical configurations which employed firstly a diode laser and secondly an Nd:YAG laser. The calibration response of the two optical set-ups revealed significant differences in terms of the depth-of-field characteristics and thus effective measurement volume dimensions. Despite these differences, a comparison of PDIA spray data revealed excellent agreement between the two datasets for measured diameters in the range 10–90 μm in the number distributions which not only confirmed robustness of the technique but also the potential of PDIA for the measurement of fast, small diameter objects. Subsequent comparisons of the PDIA data were made with PDA data obtained within the same spray in space and time and showed excellent agreement between the two techniques for droplets larger than approximately 25 μm in diameter. Discrepancies between PDIA and PDA were observed in the volume size distributions for the larger droplets measured whose diameters were greater than approximately 40 μm. This discrepancy is due to the ability of PDIA to measure the diameter of non-spherical droplets which were shown to exist in significant numbers at this measurement location within the spray. In contrast, the well-established technique PDA, which relies on the assumption of droplet sphericity clearly does not detect the presence of these larger deformed droplets.     

A Numerical Calibration Approach to Obtain Cutting Fluid Droplet Sizes in a Turning Process via an Imaging System

Airborne inhalable particulate in the workplace can represent a significant health hazard, and one of the primary sources of particles is mist produced through the application of cutting fluids in machining operations. The atomization process is one of the principal mechanisms associated with cutting fluid mist formation and generates droplets from fifty to a few thousand micrometers in size. These particles subsequently undergo vaporization and settling effects resulting in an aerosol to which workers may be exposed. While a variety of equipment is available to characterize the fine particulate in the breathing zone, standard equipment to measure the size of the atomized droplets is not available. In this paper, an imaging system is employed to characterize the large droplets produced by atomization in turning. One of the drawbacks of such a system is the time‐consuming experimental calibration procedure that is required to improve the accuracy of the droplet size measurements and extend the depth of field of the imaging system. With this in mind, an approach is introduced to predict droplet diameter based on measurement data without physical system calibration. The relationship between the actual diameter and the measured diameter is established based on an imaging system simulation model that includes a three dimensional point spread function and an image formation relationship grounded in the principles of geometric optics. These two components are combined using convolution integral theory to derive an image intensity profile. The introduction of halo width into the simulation greatly extends the image depth of field, which is a critical factor in capturing more droplets in one image and also minimizing particle size distribution bias towards larger droplets. The model predicts droplet diameter as a function of measured diameter and halo width. Model behavior of predicted diameters from the simulation compares well with those from a physical calibration of the system. The numerical calibration model is then used in the study of cutting fluid atomization in a turning process, and the measured droplet size distribution compares favorably with droplet sizes predicted by a mechanistic atomization model.     

A Multi‐Thresholding Algorithm for Sizing out of Focus Particles

A methodology is presented that enables efficient acquisition of sufficient droplet information (e.g. diameter and aspect ratio) from images of in and out of focus droplets. The newly developed multi‐threshold algorithm is successfully implemented in the automatic particle/droplet image analysis (PDIA) system. Under the same optical hardware set‐up, and compared to the dual threshold methods [1], the multi‐threshold method increases the measurable/acceptable depth of field (DoF) of particles, especially for the small particles of diameters less than 50 μm (1098 pixels in this optical set‐up). When testing the 70 μm~110 μm and 100 μm~200 μm moving glass spheres, the dual threshold method can only detect 11%~29 % of the particles found by the multi‐threshold method. The multi‐threshold method is also capable of generating the aspect ratios of particles more accurately than dual threshold methods.     

Two‐Phase Flow Characterization by Automated Digital Image Analysis. Part 2: Application of PDIA for Sizing Sprays

A series of experiments were conducted in order to assess the robustness and accuracy of a recently developed digital image analysis technique (PDIA). This paper investigates the application of the PDIA technique to the sizing of relatively small fuel droplets of diameters in the range 5 to 30 μm produced by a pressure‐swirl atomizer. The measurement performance of the PDIA system has been assessed in terms of individual object diameters and also number and volume probability density functions of diameter in comparison to phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) data obtained under identical conditions. PDIA measurements revealed good agreement with spray data obtained by PDA at a measurement location 36 diameters downstream from the nozzle orifice with differences in the arithmetic mean diameter, D₁₀ and volume mean diameter, D₃₀ of approximately 5 and 3% respectively. The PDIA technique was shown to detect the presence of very large, predominantly non‐spherical droplets whose diameters were in excess of 100 μm. These droplets, although few in number constitute a significant proportion of the total spray volume and would have otherwise been either erroneously measured or have passed through the probe volume undetected using PDA due to non‐sphericity. Smaller objects may also be measured correctly by both methods although sensitivity to signal‐to‐noise ratio, for both methods can generate spurious and contradictory errors.     

基于机器视觉的细水雾液滴尺寸测量与分析

为了满足科研与工程中对细水雾液滴尺寸测量的高精度低成本要求,对雾滴尺寸的机器视觉测量方法进行了深入研究.在自行建立的高压喷雾系统与雾滴采集装置上对细水雾液滴进行了采样,用显微镜及其CCD相机对雾滴样本进行了图像采集,用图像处理软件对采集的雾滴图像进行了处理与分析,测量并统计了5966个雾滴,得到了雾滴尺寸的频谱分布和累积分布以及雾滴平均直径和特征直径,将测量结果与相位多普勒粒子分析仪(PDPA)的测量结果进行了比较.结果表明,机器视觉方法町测量的最小雾滴直径约4.39 μm;机器视觉测量结果与PDPA测最结果相当接近,两种方法测得的细水雾液滴平均直径和特征直径的相对误差均在5%以内,雾滴尺寸均匀度指数的相对误差为0.27%.     

Digital Holography for Instantaneous Spray Diagnostics on a Plane

We present a measurement technique that is capable of simultaneously determining sizes and positions of multiple transparent droplets in a plane from scattered light features. The technique is largely independent of particle intensity and mutual obscuration. Reflected and refracted light from the droplets in a pulsed laser sheet is recorded holographically to yield the smallest possible probe volume and the largest possible number density. Larger droplets are best analyzed at the image plane; in this case, the droplets appear as two spots (glare points), whose separation is proportional to the droplet diameter. Smaller droplets are easier to analyze at an out‐of‐focus plane, where their images appear as fringe patterns whose spatial frequency is related to droplet size. Photographic techniques allow only one of these planes to be chosen and are therefore not suitable for multidisperse sprays. Optical holography allows to analyze arbitrary depths, but often suffers from low sensitivity and long analysis times. With digital holography, the spray images are captured digitally by a CCD camera and reconstructed numerically; as in optical holography, the particle reconstruction plane can be freely chosen a posteriori to optimize the measurement. We discuss the issues raised by the transition from holographic film to a CCD sensor as the recording medium, and demonstrate the capabilities of the digital technique.     

Droplet Size Distribution and Sphericity Measurements of Low‐Density Sprays Through Image Analysis

An image analysis technique has been developed in order to determine the drop size distributions of sprays produced by low‐velocity plain cylindrical jets. The particle sizing method is based on incoherent backlight images. Each drop is analyzed individually in the image. The two‐dimensional image resulting from the projection of the three‐dimensional object shape (the drop) on a screen (the video sensor surface) is modeled. The model, based on the point spread function formulation, has been developed to derive a relation between contrast and relative width of individual drops. This relation is used to extend the domain of validity of drop size in terms of size range, out of focus and image resolution. The shape parameter is determined for each drop image through morphological analysis. Spherical and non‐spherical droplets are then sorted on the basis of this parameter. Non‐spherical drops are regarded as non‐fully atomized liquid bulks or coalesced drops. Finally, the droplet size distribution of true spherical droplets is established for a low‐velocity plain cylindrical liquid jet.     

Interferometric technique for measurement of droplet diameter

The paper considers the optical contact-free method of droplet diameter sizing in the flow cross-section utilizing light interference on a droplet. Distribution of light scattered by a particle was analyzed for different configurations of the measurement system using the Mie theory and approximation of geometrical optics. Basic measurement errors and dynamic range were determined. Possibility of measurements with camera mounting at the angle of 90° to the plane of a laser sheet is shown; this simplifies setup calibration and evens characteristics over the image field. The procedure of measurement system calibration and a set of algorithms for data processing are suggested. The suggested approaches were applied for measurement of characteristics of the gas-droplet jet.     

Global Rainbow Thermometry for Mean Temperature and Size Measurement of Spray Droplets

Global rainbow thermometry is a new technique for measuring the average size and temperature of spray droplets. For data inversion a global rainbow pattern is employed, which is formed by constructive interference of laser light scattered by an ensemble of spherical droplets. The non‐spherical droplets and liquid ligaments provide a uniform background and hence do not influence the interference pattern from which average size and temperature are derived. This is a large improvement with respect to standard rainbow thermometry, investigated since 1988, which is strongly influenced by particle shape. Moreover, the technique is applicable to smaller droplets than the standard technique because the global pattern is not spoiled by a ripple structure. Data inversion schemes based on inflection points, minima and maxima are discussed with respect to spray dispersion and droplet flux. The temperature derivation from inflection points appears to be independent of spray dispersion. Preliminary measurements in a heated water spray are reported. The mean diameter obtained from the rainbow pattern is smaller than the arithmetic mean diameter measured by phase‐Doppler anemometry. The accuracy of the temperature measurement by global rainbow thermometry is shown to be a few degrees Celsius.     

Absorption and Scattering of Light by Highly Concentrated Two‐phase Flows

The spray cone emerging during an extended metal atomization process (called spray forming) has been investigated in order to quantify the influence of highly concentrated multiphase flows on phase‐Doppler‐anemometry (PDA) measurements. Using this non‐intrusive, optical measurement technique not only the local particle size and velocity distributions of the spray can be obtained but also additional information about the mass flux in the multiphase flow. Since standard phase‐Doppler systems can be easily applied to low concentrated particle systems (spherical particles with smooth surfaces and an optical transparent continuous phase taken for granted) the application of this measurement technique to highly concentrated multiphase flows is more complex. Both the laser light propagating from the PDA device to the probe volume and the scattered one going backward to the PDA receiving system are disturbed by passing the highly concentrated multiphase flow. The resulting significant loss in signal quality especially concerns the measurement of the smaller particles of the spray because of their reduced silhouette (in comparison with the bigger ones). Thus, the detection of the smallest particles becomes partially impossible leading to measurement of a distorted diameter distribution of the entire particle collective. In this study the distortions of the measured distributions dependent on the particle number concentration as well as on the path length of the laser light are discussed.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Droplet Size and Three-Components of Velocity in Spray

The combination of the optical diagnostics and image processing technique has produced various methods of practical measurement in engineering. The measurement of size and velocity of droplets in fuel spray is one typical example. In general, the spray is a complicated and three-dimensional two-phase flow; therefore multi-dimensional field measurement of the spray field is indispensable. In the present paper, a technique of simultaneous measurement of droplet size and three-components of velocity is proposed and applied to spray issuing from the swirl nozzle as a practical application. The focused image of glare points is captured by a stereoscopic arrangement, and droplet size and the three-components of velocity are evaluated from the doublet image. Fundamental optical arrangements to capture the image of the glare points with a stereo view are established, and the feasibility and the accuracy of the technique are confirmed. © 2004 The Optical Society of Japan     

Estimation of the droplet size spread with the laser induced fluorescence/Mie technique

The laser measurement technique based on the ratio between the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and the scattered light (Mie) intensities of droplets is presently limited to the evaluation of the Sauter mean diameter of the droplets. The important measurement of the droplet size spread is currently missing. An extension of the LIF/Mie technique for the measurement of droplet size spread is proposed here and is evaluated numerically. The method is based on the imperfect relationships between the scattered light intensity and the droplet surface area or the fluorescent light intensity and the droplet volume, which convey additional information that can be used to evaluate the droplet size spread.     

Osmium tetroxide fixation of vinyl chloride emulsions

It is of interest to measure the monomer droplet size in emulsion polymerization. Unlike some monomers such as styrene and alkyl acrylates, vinyl chloride is in the gaseous state at the standard condition. Thus it is hard to measure the droplet size using any of the conventional methods. It is especially difficult when the droplet is smaller than 1 μm.

Using a high-pressure-proof syringe, vinyl chloride emulsion droplets can be fixed and stained through rapid reactions with osmium tetroxide dilute solution. The resulting stained particles are ready for transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurement. Emulsion droplets as small as 0.1 μm can be identified.

This technique can be utilized to study nucleation, particle growth mechanism, and the kinetics of emulsion polymerization.     

高速数字全息测量乙醇喷雾火焰中液滴三维位置、粒径及蒸发率

喷雾蒸发燃烧的研究对指导发动机燃烧系统设计具有重要意义。本文搭建了高速数字全息系统,在线测量乙醇喷雾火焰中液滴的粒径、三维位置、速度及蒸发率。对喷雾火焰中的液滴进行了统计分析,得到液滴粒径及三维空间分布。燃烧喷雾场液滴的平均粒径为68μm;非燃烧火焰测试区液滴数量多且较密集,燃烧火焰测试区液滴数量少且稀疏.追踪单液滴并处理得到湍流火焰中液滴的运动轨迹及速度。通过研究粒径的平方D2随停留时间ts的变化,测得液滴平均蒸发率为-3.343×10-7 m2/s.     

Generation of Monodisperse Micron‐Sized Droplets using Free Adjustable Signals

This paper describes the generation of small water droplets in the size range down to a few microns. Commercially available inkjet printing devices are not suitable for producing such droplets since they produce satellite droplets. Furthermore, standard drop‐on‐demand devices are normally restricted to the generation of droplets with the same size as the orifice diameter. Using a new and more sophisticated computer‐based signal generation system, smaller‐sized droplets can be generated from the same orifice. A key feature of the design is the generation of freely definable pulses. This enables the generation of acoustic modes within the fluid of the droplet generator, which leads to the generation of droplets without satellites. Only very few pulse forms enable the generation of suitable acoustic modes. Therefore, it is necessary to look for the specific pulse corresponding to the chosen droplet generator. Flexible pulse form generation appears to be more suitable than simple pulse forms for the generation of such droplets.     

Size and Shape Analysis of Sedimentary Grains by Automated Dynamic Image Analysis

The application of Automated Dynamic Image Analysis (ADIA) for measuring the size and shape of sedimentary grains is presented. This technique determines the size and shape of a large number of particles (typically 5,000 to 50,000 or greater) in the size range between 10 to 1,500 μm. ADIA measurements are carried out using a RapidVue particle analyzer. The size and shape of particles are obtained by analyzing digital images. Each image is composed of shapes representing two‐dimensional projections of particles. The analysis yields the area and perimeter of each particle cross‐section, which are transformed into size‐independent shape values. The analysis of such a large number of particles results in a very small statistical variation of the results, ca. 0.3% for 50,000 particles. Since operator selection of images does not enter the measurement procedure, the risk of bias caused by subjective sample selection is eliminated. The combination of ADIA with a two‐dimensional Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test, allows the identification of similarities and differences between sedimentary grains.     

Particle Image Velocimetry Applied to a Spray Jet

Experiments are described in which particle image velocimetry (PIV) is applied to the measurement of liquid droplets in a spray jet. The two velocity components in planes formed by the light sheet originating from a double-pulsed ruby laser are determined. The PIV records are evaluated with the method of Young's fringes. It is shown that this procedure allows the simultaneous measurement of the droplet size within a certain size range.     

气液两相流速度及粒径分布激光干涉测量方法的研究

为了实现对气液两相流的粒子粒径、空间分布及其速度测量。对激光干涉气液两相流测量技术（ILIDS）进行了深入研究,该技术是一种应州于气液两相流测量的新技术,其主要优点是不干扰流场和颗粒粒径、位置测量精度高。基于该技术所开发的图像自动处理方法可以利用普通粒子成像测量技术系统拍摄气液两相流的激光散射干涉图像。并利用图像卷积定位、傅里叶变换频率分析及其图像互相关测速等图像处理手段从干涉图像中自动提取粒子的位置、直径和速度信息。为了验证该方法的测量精度,对喷嘴生成的气水两相流进行了测量实验,得到了喷嘴出口处不同区域的粒径、速度矢量的空间分布,并将测得的速度矢量与用粒子成像测量技术方法测得的结果进行对比,证明两种方法测量的平均速度差别仅为0．38％。     

Droplet Sizing by Mie Scattering Interferometry in a Spark Ignition Engine

A theoretical explanation is given of a technique based on Mie scattering interferometry (MSI), obtained by defocusing of the collecting optics, to size droplets. The originality of this study is the development of a droplet sizing method by planar laser light scattering for the case of a scattering angle range close to 90°. The feasibility of this method and its limitations are fully described. The dependence on intensity levels and refractive index variations can be neglected. After discussion of some practical details about particle size, imaging and camera constraints, the results obtained in the combustion chamber of a spark ignition (SI) engine, near the spark plug, prior to ignition and for different injection timings are described and discussed. It can be concluded that the implementation of the MSI method in this experimental set-up has been realized successfully to provide droplet distributions in an SI engine. To allow the easier use of the technique, image processing software will be developed in the Matlab environment.