Development and applications of laser-induced incandescence

Several NASA-funded investigations focus on soot processes and radiative influences of soot in diffusion flames given their simplicity, practical significance, and potential for theoretical modeling. Among the physical parameters characterizing soot, soot volume fraction, f(sub v), a function of particle size and number density, is often of chief practical interest in these investigations, as this is the geometrical property that directly impacts radiative characteristics and the temperature field of the flame and is basic to understanding soot growth and oxidation processes. Diffusion flames, however, present a number of challenges to the determination of f(sub v) via traditional extinction measurements. Laser-induced incandescence (LII) possesses several advantages compared to line-of-sight extinction techniques for determination of f(sub v). Since LII is not a line-of-sight technique, similar to fluorescence, it possesses geometric versatility allowing spatially resolved measurements of f(sub v) in real time in nonaxisymmetric systems without using deconvolution techniques. The spatial resolution of LII is determined by the detector and imaging magnification used. Neither absorption by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) nor scattering contributes to the signal. Temporal capabilities are limited only by the laser pulse and camera gate duration, with measurements having been demonstrated with 10 ns resolution. Because of these advantages, LII should be applicable to a variety of combustion processes involving both homogeneous and heterogeneous phases. Our work has focussed on characterization of the technique as well as exploration of its capabilities and is briefly described.