4D Combustion and Flow Diagnostics Based on Tomographic Chemiluminescence and Volumetric Laser Induced Fluorescenc

Turbulent flows and flames are inherently three-dimensional (3D) in space and transient in time. As a result, diagnostic techniques which can provide 4D measurement (4D in this dissertation refers to all three spatial directions and time) have been long desired. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate two of such diagnostics both for the fundamental study of turbulent flow and combustion processes and also for the applied research of practical devices. These two diagnostics are respectively tomographic chemiluminescence (TC) and volumetric laser induced fluorescence (VLIF). The TC technique uses the chemiluminescence emission from flame radicals to enable 4D measurements in of flame topography at high speed. The VLIF technique uses the LIF transition of a target species to enable 4D measurements or visualization of the key flows and flame parameters. This dissertation describes the numerical and experimental validation of these two techniques, and explores their capabilities and limitations. It is expected that the results obtained in this dissertation lay the groundwork for further development and expanded application of 4D diagnostics for the study of turbulent flows and combustion processes.