Non-isothermal flow diagnostics using microencapsulated cholesteric particles

The temperature and the flow field of thermo-convective liquid flows are visualized using cholesteric liquid crystal material as tracer particles. This type of tracers offers the scientifically valuable feature of measuring the flow and the temperature field simultaneously. Three thermoconvective flow configurations have been investigated successfully using liquid crystals. The results are discussed in some detail. It turns out that the liquid crystal technique is a valuable tool for thermo-convective liquid flow analysis.