Understanding the nature of aerosols is vital to designing better nebulizers for chemical analysis and drug delivery, and to investigating fuel mixing in automotive and aerospace applications. Researchers now have a technique at their disposal that uses laser light to capture images of an aerosol field. In the past, mechanical techniques such as cascade impaction and mechanical patternation dominated aerosol diagnostics, but these approaches are intrusive. Optical patternation, however, enables researchers to assess the qualities of the entire aerosol structure quickly and noninvasively. The light illuminates a slice of the aerosol, either perpendicular or parallel to the aerosol spray, and a pixel-intensified CCD array collects images of the scattered and fluorescent light from the sample.
Image analysis determines the aerosol's spatial mass distributions and planar droplet size.
One, the laser power must be high enough to provide high illumination across the area of interest in the aerosol. Two, the wavelength used must be able to excite fluorescence. Montaser said the next step is to address issues in image processing and droplet size calibration and to map other aerosol properties. Laurin Publishing Co. Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.