Master's Degree Thesis

ISRN: BTH-AMT-EX--2008/D-10--SE

Setup of Particle Image

Velocimetry (PIV) in Hypersonic
Flows

Moazzam Anwar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Blekinge Institute of Technology
Karlskrona, Sweden
2008
Supervisors: Ansel Berghuvud, Ph.D Mech Eng, BTH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Radespiel, Technical University Braunschweig, Germany
Setup of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)
in Hypersonic Flows

Moazzam Anwar
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Blekinge Institute of Technology

Karlskrona, Sweden

2008
Thesis submitted for completion of Master of Science in Mechanical
Engineering with emphasis on Structural Mechanics at the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona,
Sweden.

Abstract:
The accuracy of numerical methods in calculating the flow of backward
facing steps in turbulent hypersonic flows is limited due to a lack of flow
measurements. Such measurements are necessary to validate numerical
techniques and turbulent models. The lack of measurements concerns
especially quantitative data on the dynamics of large turbulent structures.
One approach to solve this problem is to measure the global velocity field.
Therefore the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has to be arranged for the
use in high speed flows. In this project PIV setup was installed for the use
in hypersonic Ludwieg tube Braunschweig (HLB). After the setup of PIV
system, a generic hyperboloid-flare configuration was examined. The
influence of shocks on particle concentration can be identified in these
measurements. On this model previous infrared thermography
measurements and numerical calculations are available, therefore a
comparison was made.
Keywords:
Hypersonic Ludwieg tube Braunschweig (HLB), Particle Image
Velocimetry(PIV), Generic Hyperboloid flare configuration.
Foreword

“When Almighty created the openings of atmosphere, expanse of

firmament and strata of winds, He flowed into it water whose waves were
stormy and whose surges leapt one over the other. He loaded it on dashing
wind and breaking typhoons, ordered them to shed it back (as rain), gave
the wind control over the vigour of the rain, and acquainted it with its
”
limitations. The wind blew under it while water flowed furiously over it.
(Nahjul Balagha: Sermon 1)
Human beings natural instincts provoke them to have knowledge about
nature and make best use of it for their survival. The history of fluid
mechanics can be traced back to the days of ancient Greece, when
Archimedes made a beginning on the fluid statics. Later in medieval times
Muslim Physicists, Abu Rayhan al Biruni and Al-Khazini developed fluid
dynamics. However, fluid mechanics, especially fluid dynamics, is an
active field of research with many unsolved or partly solved problems.
Fluid mechanics can be mathematically complex. Sometimes it can best be
solved by numerical methods, typically using computers. A modern
discipline, called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is devoted to this
approach to solving fluid mechanics problems. Also taking advantage of the
highly visual nature of fluid flow is Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV), an
experimental method for visualizing and analyzing fluid flow.

2
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out at Institute of Fluid mechanics, Technical
University Braunschweig, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Rolf Radespiel, Dr.rer.nat.habil. Christian J. Kähler, Dipl.-Ing. Dirk
Heitmann and Dipl.-Ing. Peter Scholz.
The work is a part of research projects being carried out at Institute for
Fluid mechanics, TU Braunschweig, Germany, under the workgroup of
Flow Control and Measuring Techniques. I studied there as an Erasmus
exchange student. The work started in Feb, 2008.
I extend my greatest gratitude’s to the whole group for their guidance and
professional engagement throughout the work. My special thanks to Dirk
Heitmann for his time based guidance from the start of work till the
completion of report. Also, thanks to my supervisor Dr.Ansel Berghuvud at
home university (Blekinge Institue of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden) for
his valuable suggestions and support.
In the end thanks to my beloved family whose moral support encouraged
me to anticipate actively in the work.

Karlskrona, October 2008,

Moazzam Anwar

3
Contents
1 Notation 6
2 Introduction 8
2.1 Aim and Scope of the work. 10
3 Particle selection 12
3.1 scattering characteristics of particles. 12
3.2 Tracking characteristics of particles. 14
3.2.1 Equation of Motion. 14
3.3 Health and Hazardous Impacts of Seeding Particles. 18
3.4 Cost Concerns. 21
3.5 Considerations about CO 21
2
3.6 TiO as Seed Material. 23
2

4 Seeding generator and seeding system. 26

4.1 Experimentation with seeding system. 28
4.1.1 Particles Measurements. 28
5 Experimental work. 31
5.1 Facility Description. 31
5.1.1. Working Principle. 31
5.2 Hyperboloid Model. 32
5.3 Illumination and Photo acquisition system. 33
5.4. Experimentation. 34
5.5. Data Processing. 35
5.6 Comparison of Experimental work with Numerical Work 38
5.7 Image Position error. 42
6 Conclusions. 46

7 Recommendations for Future Research. 48

8 References. 49

4
Appendices

A Bolt Selection Formula. 51

B Particle measurements. 52

5
1 Notation
A Area of the surface (top lid)
Abolt Area of the bolt
Scattering cross section
Diameter of the particle
Particle diameter at time t
Particle initial diameter
Hv Latent heat of sublimation
Laser intensity incident on particle
Ka Thermal conductivity
Scale factor in mm/pix
Nu Nusselt no
Refrective index
nbolt no of bolts.

∆ Total pressure on the surface (top lid)

Total scattered power
S Safety factor
Tensile strength of bolt,

T∞ Gas temprature
T Particle temprature
∆ Time delay between the two laser pulses
Particle velocity
Fluid velocity
Gravitational induced velocity

6
 Particle step response velocity
Particle instantaneous velocity
Actual particle velocity normal to the shock
Particle velocity upstream of shock
Flow velocity downstream of shock
Particle ensemble velocity

Instantaneous particle velocity

∆Vp Particle velocity error
Velocity gradient
∆ Distance travelled by the particle in two frames in pixels
Laser wavelength
Particle relaxation time
ρp Particle density

μ Dynamic viscosity
ρf Fluid density

ξ Besset integral term

ξ Optical displacement gradient

7
2 Introduction
The development of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is attributed to the
non-intrusive methods for the velocity measurements in different flow
regimes. The salient advantage of this technique is to investigate high speed
flows with shocks or in boundary layers close to the wall, where the flow
may be disturbed by the presence of probes.
The PIV technique uses the tracer particles which are injected into the flow.
The measured velocity of these tracer particles reveals the velocity of the
fluid elements
The experimental set-up of a PIV system consists of several sub systems.
Above all a seeding system is required to inject the proper seeding particles
into the flow. These particles are then illuminated by the laser sheet in the
plane of the flow at least twice within short time interval. The light
scattered by the particles has to be recorded either on a single frame or on a
sequence of frames. The displacement of the particle images between the
light pulses has to be determined through evaluation of the PIV recordings.
The formula for determining the velocities of the particle is given below in
equation (2.1).

.∆
∆
(2.1)
∆ ∆

Where,
Particle ensemble velocity,
∆ Distance travelled by the particle in two frames in pixels.
Scale factor in mm/pix.
∆ Time delay between the two laser pulses.
In order to be able to handle the great amount of data which can be
collected employing PIV technique, sophisticated post-processing is
required.

8
 Figure 2.1. Experimental arrangement for particle image velocimetry in a
wind tunnel [1]

Figure 2.1 explains the typical setup for the PIV recording in a wind tunnel.
Small tracer particles are added to the flow. A plane (light sheet) within the
flow is illuminated twice by means of a laser (the time delay between pulses
depending on the mean flow velocity and the magnification at imaging).
It is assumed that the tracer particles move with local flow velocity between
the two illuminations. The light scattered by the tracer particles is recorded
via a high quality CCD camera. The cross correlation on photographical
PIV is done by means of a software to unfold the information. The
sequential representation of the work is shown in figure (2.2).

9
Figure 2.2. Analysis of double frame/single exposure recordings: the digital
cross correlation method [2].

PIV is a technique which allows one to record images of large parts of flow
fields in a variety of applications in gaseous and liquid media and to extract
the velocity information out of these images. With PIV spatial resolution is
large.

2.1 Aim and Scope of the Work

The objective of the current work is to install a PIV system in Hypersonic

Ludweig tube Braunschweig (HLB). The purpose of the setup is to analyze
the flow around a generic hyperboloid - flare configuration and then
comparison of the PIV results with the already available infrared
thermography measurements and numerical calculations.
A comprehensive summary of the works is given below for the attainment
of the above stated goal.
The very first task is the selection of proper seeding material. The selection
of the seeding material is very crucial because properly selected material
follows the flow faithfully as well as reflects the enough light for the image
processing. Also the health and hazardous impacts as well as the cost
concerns are major issues to be addressed in particle selection criteria.
The second task is the design of seeding generator for the homogenous
distribution of particles in the wind tunnel. The safe design of the seeding

10
generator requires proper selection of the material and fasteners to
withstand the intended pressure. The air purging pipe should produce
proper swirl for the outburst of the particles from the seeding generator.
Burst test is carried out on seeding generator to ensure its safe usage.

Also the delivery of the particles from the seeding generator at different
pressure ratios between seeding generator and ambient (within pressure
vessel) and seeding generator filling level are measured to ensure that there
are enough particles during the experiments.
Then comes the installation of lasers, camera and the model. After the
proper installation (described in the relevant sections) of the lasers, camera
and model, the synchronization problems of these equipments are resolved.
It is assured that the camera captures the picture of the flow within the
tunnel run time.
After the completion of the above stated works, experiments are carried out
showing particle movements.
Cross- correlation is performed on the images to get the information of the
velocities of the particles. The results then show shock waves resulting
from the interaction of the fluid with the model.
A comparison is made between the results from PIV and numerical
simulations (computed with TAU code) [11].
Particle position error is calculated. This position error contributes to the
direct velocity error (bias error).

11
3 Particle Selection
The very fundamental step in the PIV is the selection of a proper particle
material and size. There are some considerations to be kept in mind to
achieve the optimal results. Among those are, the size of the particles
should be large enough to scatter sufficient light for image acquisition, but
should also be small enough to faithfully follow the flow. Lastly, the
impact of the seeding particles to our equipment as well as to our health
must be considered.

3.1 Scattering characteristics of Particles

The image intensity acquired from the particles and therefore the contrast of
the PIV recordings is directly proportional to the scattered light power, it is
often more effective and economical to increase the image intensity by
properly choosing the scattering particles than by increasing the laser
power. In our case particles of small sizes (50nm to 10µm) are required due
to low density of the flow. It is because small particles will follow the flow
faithfully.
The light scattering capability of particle is described as the scattering cross
section C s , defined as the ratio of the total scattered power Ps to the laser
intensity I o incident on the particle;

Ps
Cs = (3.1)
Io

12
 Table 3.1. Scattering cross sections as a function of particle size [3].

Diameter d p Scattering cross section C s

Molecule ≅ 10 −33 m 2
4
⎛d ⎞
1 µm Cs ≅ ⎜ p ⎟ ≅ 10 −12 m 2
⎝ λ ⎠

2
⎛d ⎞
10 µm Cs ≅ ⎜ p ⎟ ≅ 10 −9 m 2
⎝ λ ⎠

The variation of the scattering cross section as a function of the ratio of the
particle diameter ( d p ) to the laser wavelength ( λ ) for the spherical
particles with refractive index m =1.6 is shown in the figure 3.1 below.

Figure 3.1: The scattering cross section as a function of particle size

(refractive index m =1.6) [3]

13
It is very obvious from the Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1 that the scattering cross
section increases with the increase in particle size.
In PIV experiments light scattered at 90º from the incident light sheet is
observed. Therefore, the angular distribution of the scattered light as well as
the scattering cross section is important. The angular distribution of
scattered light in the vicinity of 90º is complex, with several nodes whose
exact positions are strongly size dependent [4]. The influence of these
fluctuations can be reduced by spatial averaging over a finite aperture of the
collecting optics. The ratio I 90 / I s 0 decrease with the increase in size
parameter value d p / λ , with the values roughly in the range of 10 −1 − 10 −3
for scattering particles useful in PIV.

3.2 Tracking Characteristics of Particles

3.2.1 Equation of Motion

Besset [5] gave the equation for unsteady motion of a suspended sphere.
This equation relates the instantaneous relative velocity V = U p − U f

between the particle and the fluid to the instantaneous velocities U p and

U f of the particle and fluid respectively. These velocities are represented

as in figure 3.2;

Figure 3.2.: Suspended particle’s relative motion.

14
πd p 3 dU πd p 3 dU f 3 2
t
dξ
− d p (πμρf ) 2 ∫ V
1 d
ρp = −3πμd p V + ρf
p

6 dt 6 dt 2 to
dξ (t − ξ ) 12
(3.2)
where;
d p =particle diameter

ρ p =particle density

μ =Dynamic viscosity

ρ f =Fluid density

ξ =Besset integral term

The acceleration force and the viscous resistance according to stroke’s Law
are given in the first two terms. The acceleration of the fluid leads to a
pressure gradient in the vicinity of the particle and hence to an additional
force given by the third term. The fourth term represents the resistance of
an inviscid fluid to the acceleration of the sphere, as given by the potential
theory. The final term is the ‘Basset history integral’ which defines the
resistance caused by the unsteadiness of the flow field.
For PIV in gas flows, the focus of this research, the density ratio of the seed
material is much greater than the density of the fluid, and the equation of
motion for a particle shown in Equation (3.3) becomes dominated to the
Stokes terms, resulting in the following expression:

dU 18μ
=− (U p − U f ) (3.3)
dt ρ pd p2

This relationship compares favourably to the work published by Raffel,

Willert and Kompenhans [6], who describes the primary source of error in
tracer particle motion in steady flows as the influence of gravitational forces
when the density of the fluid ρ and the tracer particles ρ are not the same.
p
The gravitationally induced velocity U from Stokes drag law is determined
g
in order to introduce how the particles behave under accelerations. Stokes
drag law assumptions are applicable when the particle is assumed spherical

15
and the particle’s Reynolds number is small, which is applicable for tracer
particles in gas flows [6, 7].

The gravitationally induced velocity is.

(ρ −ρf )
Ug = d2p
p
g (3.4)
18μ

Raffel, et al[1] further relate the gravitational induced velocity equation

above to derive an estimate for the velocity lag of a particle in a
continuously accelerating fluid:

(ρ −ρf )
Us = U p −U = d 2 p
p
a (3.5)
18μ

They further determined that the step response of the seed particle (U )
p
typically follows an exponential law if the density of the particle is much
greater than the fluid density. This difference in density is a characteristic of
using solid tracer particles in gaseous flows. This results in the development
of a relationship for particle velocity Up(t) by Melling [3] which is:

⎡ ⎛ t ⎞⎤
U p(t ) = U ⎢1 − exp⎜⎜ − ⎟⎟⎥ (3.6)
⎣ ⎝ τ s ⎠⎦

The particle velocity response in the wake of a shock can be tracked by the
work of Melling (1997) [3].

U (t ) − U 1 − t
U p(t ) = = e τs (3.7)
U 2 − U1

Where U(t) is the actual particle velocity normal to the shock at a given
instant. U 1 is its value upstream of the shock and U 2 is the flow velocity
downstream of the shock.

16
τ s is the relaxation time and is given by the equation.

ρp
τs = d2p (3.8)
18μ

Relaxation time is a convenient measure of the tendency of the particle to

achieve equilibrium with the fluid. Thus it is one of the fundamental step in
selecting the particle material and size.
Plots of relaxation time are depicted in the figure (3.5) below. It is very
obvious that the particles with smaller diameter tend to achieve the
equilibrium with the fluid velocity earlier than the larger particles.

Figure 3.4.: A Typical Relaxation Time as a Function of Particle Size [1]

17
Some properties of the commonly used seeding particles in the gas flows
are depicted in the table 3.2 below.

Table 3.2. Seeding particles in gas flows[3].

3.3 Health and Hazardous Impacts of Seeding

Particles

As the particles employed in PIV can pose serious damaging effects to the
health of the people working with them, to the environment as well as to the
equipment. Therefore special attention is needed to choose the right seeding
material that is more users friendly. We list below some of the Health and
Hazardous Impacts of the Seeding Particles, addressed in the conference on
PIV, by R. D. Brown of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic PA (7).Also the
conclusion of IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) for
Titanium Dioxide is incurred in the table (3.3) below. It suggested that
Titanium Dioxide is Carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) through inhalation
not digestion. This classification is based upon animal inhalation studies.
Epidemiology studies do not suggest an increased risk of cancer in humans
from occupational exposure to titanium dioxide.

18
 An approximation of physiological classification of toxicities is provided
below in Table (3.3):
Table3.3. Physiological Classifications of Toxic Materials[8]

Class Examples
Irritant Ammonia, Sulphur Dioxide
Asphyxiant Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon
Monoxide and Dioxide
Anesthetic Aliphatic Hydrocarbons, Ethyl
Alcohol
Systemic Poison Heavy Metals, Carbon
Tetrachloride
Sensitizer Isocyanates, Formaldehyde
Fibrotic Agent Silica, Coal Dust
Mutagens and Carcinogens Arsenic, Asbestos, Titanium
Dioxide
Nuisance Alumina, Kaolin, Magnesia

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)

publishes a size distribution guide describing how respirable particulates
may be, and is summarized in Table (3.4).

Table 3.4. Respirable Particulate Size Distribution[8]

Particulate Size (μm) % Respirable

<2 90
2.5 75
3.5 50
5.0 25
10 0

Particulate seeding materials also pose explosive hazards. A commonly

referenced property that adequately describes the volatility is vapour
pressure, and is often expressed as a material’s lower explosive limit. The
lower explosive limit is the minimum air concentration at which a
homogeneous mixture can be burned when subjected to an ignition source

19
of adequate temperature and energy. A synopsis of the health and safety
hazards for common seed materials is provided in Table 3.5.

Table 3.5: Health and Hazard Properties of Seed Materials[8]

Name Exposure Limit Health Effects LEL

Aluminium 10 mg/m3 Nuisance, N/A
Oxide Carcinogen
Titanium Dioxide 10mg/m3 Carcinogen N/A
Kaolin 10 mg/m3 Nuisance
Silicon Carbide 10 mg/m3 Nuisance
Polystyrene Latex 10 mg/m3 Nuisance, 15 g/m3
50 ppm Carcinogen 1.1%
Anesthetic,
Irritant

Vinyl Toluene 10 mg/m3 Nuisance 0.1%

50 ppm Anesthetic,
Irritant

Propylene Glycol Nuisance 2.6%

Kerosene 14 ppm Irritant 0.9%
Ethyl Alcohol 1000 ppm Anesthetic, 3.3%
Irritant
Methyl Alcohol 200 ppm Anesthetic, 6.7%
Irritant

Comparatively CO is less hazardous to work with, readily available and

2
the health concerns are little as well. The significant hazard in the solid
form will be Frostbite in case of prolonged direct exposure to the skin.
Otherwise, it is an inert gas and humans have a very high tolerance to
exposure. OSHA requirements effective 1 Mar 1990 specify a time
weighted average (TWA) of 10,000 ppm and a short time exposure limit
(STEL) of 30,000 ppm. This translates to a person being exposed to an
average concentration of 10,000 ppm over an 8-hour workday, or a
concentration of 30,000 ppm over 15 minutes (33).

20
3.4 Cost Concerns

Consideration should be given with regards to the costs associated with the
deployment and operation of a seeding mechanism. The Sno-Gun II
cleaning system for CO has a retail price of approximately $2,000.00,
2
which is less than 20% the cost of conventional powder seeders. It should
be noted that a commercial system for a large tunnel would likely be
considerably more expensive.
The use of CO for seed particles can provide additional cost savings when
2
compared to other seed materials, as seen below (table 3.6) in the
comparison between CO and TiO .
2 2

Table 3.6: Cost comparison between TiO2 and CO2[8]

Seed Cost / lb Density Weight / Vol Cost / m3

Material
TiO2 $7.72/ kg 4230 4.22 x10-3 $0.0325
(3) k g / m3 kg/m3
Liquid CO2 $0.44 / kg 762 k g / 7.61x10-4 $0.000335
3
(4) m3 kg/m

TiO is widely used as a seed material in gas flows, and while the cost
2
savings of using CO may not be applicable in smaller wind tunnels that
2
require less seed material, larger scale facilities can expect to see
considerable cost savings.

3.5 Considerations about CO2

In relation to our primary objective of choosing a particle material for all

good reason mentioned above and explained later in the relevant sections,
our attention was completely towards CO as seed material. The good
2
reasons for this were its good light scattering behaviour, small relaxation
time, and above all very user friendly in terms of health and hazardous

21
effects. For this purpose we have to do some thermodynamical
computations to see if CO will work in our facility or not?
2
We had to use solid carbon dioxide (dry ice), and then this should be
injected to the wind tunnel by using appropriate accessories. As this solid
CO will travel in the tunnel it will sublimate directly to gaseous form. We
2
had to calculate the time required for sublimation, so that we know that if
solid CO will reach our test section, in order for image processing. We
2
utilized the equation below which is formed by using first law of
thermodynamics. An energy balance between convective heat transfer and
heat of sublimation will result.

⎡ 4 K Nu (T∞ − T ) ⎤
(dp(t )) 2 = (dp (i )) 2 − ⎢ a ⎥t (3.9)
⎣ ρHv ⎦

Here dp(t) is the particle diameter at some time. dp (i) is the initial particle
diameter. Computations were made on the basis of above equation. Due to
the high temperature of our facility, we found that CO will not work. The
2
life time of CO was very short. Solid CO was not able to reach the test
2 2
section. Therefore, we left this option of using CO as seed material and
2
diverted our attention to Titanium Dioxide. The diameters of different CO2
particles calculated with time are given in figure (3.5) below. The flow with
steady state conditions reaches the test section between 3-5 ms. It is obvious
from the figure plot that the life time of carbon dioxide is below the
required time.

22
 Figure 3.5. CO2 Particle size with time

3.6 TiO2 as Seed Material

Titanium dioxide is an appropriate seed material for all the good reasons
discussed above. The small sized particles faithfully follow the flow and
particle agglomeration is not a great problem in our facility. The only
problem associated to the usage of Titanium dioxide is that it makes the
facility very dirty, in turn it makes the windows dirty, causes the
malfunctioning of the valves due to particles aggregation. We have chosen
Titanium dioxide as a seed material because people in Technical University,
Delft (Netherlands) successfully employed it and their flow conditions are
very similar to ours.
Relaxation times of the particles of different sizes are calculated with
Titanium dioxide ( ) density, 4230 kg/m3. The dynamic viscosity of air
2
is 4.8297e-006 N.s/m . The velocities of the particles of different sizes are
shown in the figure (3.6). The scaled version of the figure is plotted as well.

23
It is obvious from the figure that the particles of sizes 21nm and 0.1µm
attain the fluid velocity within no time, while the particles of larger size
take some time to attain the fluid velocity. The relaxation times of the
particles according to sizes are presented in the table (3.7).

Figure 3.6.Particles velocity with time.

24
 Table 3.7. Titanium dioxide’s particles relaxation time

Particle Diameter Relaxation time

0.021µm 2.14 x 10-5ms
0.1 µm 4.9 x 10-4 ms
0.2 µm 1.9 x 10-3ms
10 µm 4.9 ms

25
4 Seeding Generator and Seeding
System
The next step after the conclusion of seeding material was to ponder about
the way to inject the seeding particles into the facility in a way that the
particles do not agglomerate too much and get distributed evenly in the
tube. This arise the evolvement of a seeding generator. The construction of
the seeding generator is explained below.
The seeding generator consists of three parts. The main cylinder, top and
the bottom lid. The top lid is having three holes in it. Through one side hole
the particles are injected. Later in through experimentation it was
discovered that the injection of particles through hole is not a suitable
method, because in this way particles have to be pressed to pass through the
funnel and pipe and particles do agglomerate in this way. Therefore to
avoid this situation the particles are poured into the seeding generator
through its mouth after removing the top lid. Therefore this hole was sealed.
The other side hole is for the air inlet. Through this air inlet hole we inject a
pipe of small diameter that is bent from the bottom at 45º. Also from
experiments (explained below) it was found that this construction of pipe
will not let many particles out of the seeding generator at low pressure
ratios. This is because of the formation of particles clumps on the bottom of
the seeding generator. Therefore a pipe with round bent at the bottom was
chosen to serve the purpose effectively. The purpose of this pipe is to
produce a cyclone inside the seeding generator so that the particles which
are staying on the bottom are swirled and pushed upward. On the upper lid
there is a hole in the centre. This hole is connected to the wind tunnel
through pipe. Thus the particles travel through this hole and they pass to the
wind tunnel just before the nozzle of the wind tunnel.
The design of the seeding generator involves some mechanics
computations. The material of the seeding generator should possess the
tensile strength to withstand the applied force. The material of the seeding
generator is stainless steel. Also the required thickness of the cylinder is
calculated. The lids are screw tightened to the main cylinder. Proper bolts
were chosen and so were the holes drilled in the parts. The numbers of bolts
required were also calculated. This is given in appendix A. The top and
bottom lids were made air tight with the application of gaskets. Two

26
different seeding generators assemblies are shown in figure (4.1.a , 4.1.b).
The reasons for these two different kinds of assemblies are explained later.

Figure 4.1.a. Seeding generator drawing with 450 bent air purging pipe.

Figure 4.1.b. Seeding generator drawing with round bent air purging pipe.

The complete seeding system consists of several other accessories from the
air transfer from the main high pressure (300bar) line (for the wind tunnel)

27
to the seeding generator, then for the transfer of seed particles to the tube.
The following are the accessories needed for the whole seeding system.
1. Valves to control the flow of the air.
2. Pressure regulator to control the pressure.
3. Hose pipe and stainless steel pipes for the transfer of air.
4. Relief Valve.
A schematic diagram of the complete seeding system is shown below.

1 6
2 5
3
4

Figure 4.2. Schematic sketch of seeding system

The sequential blocks are narrating the following components.

1. High pressure (300bar) line.
2. Valve.
3. Pressure regulator.
4. Seeding Generator.
5. Valve.
6. Low pressure (10bar) line to Tube. This line is designed for 40 bar but
we used 10 bar.

4.1 Experimentation with seeding system

4.1.1 Particles Measurements

The particles outcome from the seeding generator against different filling
levels and pressure ratios between seeding generator and the pressure vessel
was carried out to ensure that we have enough amounts of particles in the
facility during experiments.

28
To continue in this regard, a pressure vessel was used. This pressure vessel
allowed us to create a pressurized environment of desired level (1- 5 bars).
The particles from the seeding generator were forced to accumulate in a
polythene bag installed in the pressure vessel via the transfer line.
This was quite laborious work in a sense that first we need to install the
polythene bag in the pressure vessel. Then the pressure vessel was
pressurized and the seeding generator was pressurized to the desired point.
The bag was removed after depressurizing the vessel to measure the particle
outcome. This task was repeated several times. It was made sure that all the
connections were same between the seeding generator and pressure vessel
like those used in the real experiments.
The results of the experiments are tabulated and attached as appendix B.
Some useful information regarding the amount of particles required for the
experiments can be inferred from these tables. As a rule of thumb 10-25
particles are required for 1024 pixels area. Therefore, particles volume
required for the experiments can be deduced from those tables.
Although the intricacies of the experiments as a whole cannot be explained
for some unorthodox behaviour occurrence but still we can make some
logical assumptions. These are categorized into two forms. One for the 45o
degree bent air purging pipe and the second for the pipe bent round at the
bottom.
For the 45o degree bent pipe the deductions are as follows,
1. At low pressure ratios, between seeding generator and Pressure vessel,
also at low pressures great amount of particles sprang out of the seeding
generator.
2. At high pressure ratios the amount of particles decreased.
3. For low pressure ratios, but at high pressures the amount of particles
outburst also decreased.
4. As we went on increasing the pressure inside the pressure vessel, fewer
amounts of particles was observed. This is due to the fact that pressure
equalization obtained earlier.
5. The zero particle outcomes towards the end of the experiments can be
rationalized by considering the fact that the particles had coagulated to a
greater extent, which also blocked the air swirl.
6. For low seeding levels we can achieve great particles outcome.

29
7. In the end it is concluded that the 45o degree bent air purging pipe did not
produce the proper swirl, rather it pushed the particles more to the walls.
Although we have not enough data for the air purging pipe bent round at the
bottom, we have used this pipe successfully in real experiments.
This pipe produced proper swirl, which resulted in a great outburst of
particles.

30
5 Experimental work

5.1 Facitlity Description

5.1.1 Working Principle

The Hypersonic Ludwieg Tube Braunschweig(HLB) is designed for

Machnummber M=6. The operative range of the unit Reynolds number is
between 3.106 1/m and 20.106 1/m. The test section has 500mm diameter
and the time with near steady flow conditions is 80ms.
A schematic diagram of the HLB is given in Figure 5.1 [9].

Figure 5.1 Hypersonic Ludwieg Tube Bruanschwieg(HLB)

The assembly is divided into a high pressure and low pressure section,
which are separated by the fast acting valve. The high pressure section
consisting of the 17m long storage tube with a 3 m long heated section can
be pressurized to up to 30 bar. The low pressure section consisting of the

31
hypersonic nozzle, the test section, the diffuser and a 6 m3 dump tank is
evacuated before each run to about 1mbar. The valve basically consists of a
pneumatically driven piston which fits into the nozzle throat with its conical
end. The valve can be opened for about 100ms. This causes an expansion
wave to run into the storage tube. In the wave the air is accelerated towards
the nozzle where it is expanded and accelerated to Mach 5.9 in the test
section. The expansion wave travelling through the storage tube is reflected
at its end and reaches the valve again after about 80 ms. This is the time
period of the steady flow conditions in the test section. The closure of the
valve inhibits complete equalization of pressure in the facility, which saves
energy and time.

5.2 Hyperboloid Model

Flow investigations were carried out around an axisymmetric

hyperboloid/flare model. The geometrical definition given by Schwane [10]
resembles the contour of the windward side of the Hermes spacecraft at 30°
angle of attack including a flap with 20% of the total length and a flap angle
of 43.59° related to the axis or 22.28° related to the slope of the contour just
before the hinge. The total length of the model is 149.24mm. The
cylindrical portion has a length of 80mm. While the conical section and flap
constitutes a length of 59.24mm. Figure 5.2 shows the geometry of the
model with the shock topology at HLB conditions. Downstream of the bow
shock, a recirculation zone develops along the hinge. The region of
separated flow is bound by a separation and a reattachment shock.
Downstream the flow is expanded across a Prandtl-Meyer expansion
centred at the end of the flap. Models with different materials existed. The
model we used is shown to the right and is made from PMMA.

32
 Figure 5.2. Hyperboloid/flare models; left model made from SINTIMID
15G,right model made from PMMA(left).Sketch of the shock topology
around the model at an upstream Mach number of Ma=5.9(right)

5.3 Illumination and Photo acquisition system

The particles are illuminated by Double Pulsed Nd:YAG laser generating

light pulses at a wavelength of 532nm with a maximum energy of 150mJ
and a duration of 4.2ns.The laser light sheet thickness is 1mm, and the
model is illuminated from the top.

Figure 5.3. Schematic representation of PIV Setup

The light scattered by the particles is captured by a CCD camera in order to

measure the spatial resolution. A PCO 4000 camera with 4008 x 2672 px2
area was used to serve the purpose. The camera was placed perpendicular to
the light sheet propagation axis. The distance between the PIV plane (light
sheet) and the camera sensor was 0.90 m.

33
5.4 Experimentation

Before the commencement of real experiments, synchronization problems

of the equipments were solved. It was made sure that the camera, laser and
wind tunnel are perfectly synchronized, so that we capture the pictures of
the flow within 80ms of the tunnel run time. The signals from camera
running at 1.25 Hz were used to trigger the tunnel (vavle control). For this
purpose DaVis software (developed by LaVision) and a sequencer card with
phase shift (Hardsoft PTU 9) was used. In this respect trigger was set to
recording rate. Also the settings for the valve control of the wind tunnel
were accurately adjusted to create an offset. This offset was adjusted so that
during the next trigger 800ms of camera, the flow was present. Accurate
adjustment was necessary, because it was suspected that the seeding density
would change during the tunnel run time. The repeatability of the triggering
was assured by measuring signals from the fast acting valve and
camera/laser. Five images were captured for one experiment. Image
acquisition was set to trigger 3rd image.
Then the calibration was performed. The length (80mm) of the cylindrical
portion was taken into account. This gave 2323 pixels for the length.
Therefore the scale factor is,

0.0344 / (5.1)

Finally, the experiments were carried out. We could see the particles in the
desired Image. Also particles movement was observed within the two
frames of the Image. An example of one particle Image is shown in figure
(5.1).

34
 Figure 5.4. PIV Image with Mach 5.9 around Hyperboloid flare
configuration

5.5 Data Processing

The cross-correlation of the PIV recordings is performed with DaVis. Two

interrogation windows of sizes 250x250 and 60x60 pixels are used for the
Data processing of the PIV with an overlap factor of 50 % each.

35
 Figure 5.5. Stream wise Velocity distribution

The Image (5.5), shows the data processing results. The shocks were
resolved with poor configuration. The data is Noisy because only one
double frame was used. Usually several double frames are averaged. Here
only one image could be recorded. This limitation is due the presence of
particles in the test section at a specific time during the tunnel run time. The
different colours in the Velocity distribution figure unfold the following
information.
White= 941 m/s
Red = 740 m/s
Blue = 883 m/s

The repeatability of the experiments can be verified from the results of the
different experiments. These are shown in the figures below.

36
Figure 5.6.a. PIV results from experiments

Figure 5.6.b. PIV results from experiments

37
 Figure 5.6.c. PIV results from different experiments

5.6 Comparison of Experimental work with

Numerical Work

A succinct summary of the comparison between different measuring

techniques experimental and numerical work [11] is provided here. The
figures (5.7.a, b, c and 5.8.a, b) are presented below for the comparison
work. In these figures we have shown x-velocity as contour plot in the
vicinity of the model.

38
Figure 5.7.a. Comparison b/w experimental work(above) and numerical
work(below).

Figure 5.7.b. Comparison b/w experimental work(above) and numerical

work(below).

39
 Figure 5.7.c. Comparison b/w experimental work(above) and numerical
work(below).

The pictures from different experiments with their corresponding

comparisons with numerical work (computed with TAU code) [11] are
shown above. All comparison figures show experimental results above and
numerical work below. We can clearly see the similarities between
experimental and numerical work. All the figures above show similar
behaviour with very small differences. The differences are present due to
the varying particle density. This particle variation is a result of seeding
generator filling level. Like in the very first figure at the nose we see a little
glitch. This is due the loss of particles. But we can appreciate the great
similarities between the figures as a whole.

40
Figure 5.8.a. Plot of velocities at different heights along the model,
experimental (above), numerical (below).

Figure 5.8.b. Plot of velocities at different heights along the model,

experimental (above), numerical (below).

41
 Figures (5.7.a, b, c) can be understood well while referring to the figure
(5.2).The experimental results (above) and numerical results (below) are
very much in accordance with each other with small discrepancies. The
positions of the shocks are alike. The presence of bias error (in magnitudes
of velocities) can be upto 20% within experimental results which is
assumed on the basis of studies made by (G.E. Elsinga, B.E. van
Oudheusden, F,Scarano) [12] are due to the gradient of the optical
displacement vector ( ξ). This contributes to the direct velocity error.
The blue nebula present across the model in figure (5.7.a, b, and c)is due to
the loss of particles.
The plots of the velocities at different heights along the model also show
some deviations. The velocities are taken along constant lines at certain
heights. The shapes of the plots are more O less same. The higher velocities
at (x=18-20mm, y=16mm) and at(x=38-42mm,y=30mm) in experimental
results are due to inertial waves of the particles. At(x=60-84mm,y=50mm),
the steep decline in the velocities can be attributed to the loss of particles.

5.7 Image Position Error

The inhomogeneous nature of the fluid as in case of compressible flows or

thermal convection flows can cause a local distortion of the image of the
illuminated particles in the process of image acquisition. The image pattern
of the particles resulting from such experiments is then subjected to
deformation and individual particles may be perceived as blurred. In the
case of particle image velocimetry two kinds of errors can be identified:
position error and velocity error.
These position and velocity errors result from the geometrical deformation
of the image, which cause a systematic (bias) error of the measured
velocity. In synthesis one may say that the wrong velocity vector is
evaluated at the wrong position. Image blur affects the tracking precision in
terms of cross-correlation accuracy due to the (anisotropic) increase of the
particle image size, thus broadening the correlation peak. This is illustrated
with the help of figure (5.8) [12].

42
 Figure 5.8. Optical distortion in PIV: position error (left) and direct
velocity error (right).Solid lines represent light ray trajectories coming
from the particle (solid circle). Dashed lines are backward extension of
those rays indicating the position where the particle is perceived in the PIV
plane (open circles)

Let the image distortion be expressed in terms of an optical displacement

vector , as:

(5.3)

Where is the actual particle location (x , y) in the measurement plane

and is the location where that particle is perceived (Figure 5.8, left).
The optical displacement vector is directly equivalent to the position error
of the measurement and is related to the gradient of the refractive index .
The Backward Oriented Shlieren technique (BOS) studies (Richard and
Raffel 2001[13]; Elsinga et al 2004a[14]) propose the following expression
for the optical displacement vector based on the theory of light propagation
in a refractive index field (using ~1) :

, (5.4)

Where z is the coordinate direction normal to the PIV measurement plane,

the light beam deflection angle and is the distance parallel to the

43
optical axis between the measurement plane and the intersection point of
the disturbed( 0) and the undisturbed ( 0) light rays coming from
the same particle (Fig. 1 left). The refractive index n depends on the density

according to the Gladstone-Dale relation, i.e.

1 (5.5)

Where K = 2.3 x 10-4 m3/kg for air.

Equation (5.4) was used to compute the particle position error at different
coordinates (x , y) along the model. To compute the value of n the values
the densities were taken from the numerical work [11] along those
coordinates. Matlab codes were generated to approximate the data as well
as to compute the position error. 10th degree polynomials were found to be
good approximations. The approximated polynomial was used to find the
refractive index gradient by using Matlab command (diff(n,z)), then the
integration of the above equation (5.4) was done using Matlab command
(quad).One figure of the data approximation with the 10th degree
polynomial is shown (5.9).

Figure 5.9. 10th degree polynomial fit to the data

44
The computed error values are mentioned below with their corresponding
positions.

= 0.1168 µm at (0, 0) at the start of the bow shock.

=0.0011 µm at (40, 60) in the free stream zone above the bow shock.
= 7.3287 x 10-5 µm at (62, 52) just before the reattachment shock.
= -0.0088 µm at (67, 52) inside the reattachment shock.
=-0.0879 µm at (75, 52) further inside the reattachment shock.
=-0.0667 µm at (100, 52) far inside the reattachment shock.

For the coordinates of these points refer to the figure below (5.10)

Figure 5.10. Coordinates location of the points where image position errors
were calculated

45
6 Conclusions
Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) setup was installed for the application in
hypersonic flows with Mach no (5.9) around a hyperboloid flare
configuration.
Some considerations for the seeding materials were taken into account.
This include the scattering characteristics, tracking behaviour of the
particles, Health and Hazardous impacts and cost concerns. CO2 was found
most appropriate as seeding material. But thermodynamical calculation
proved that CO2 cannot be used for our experiments. This is because of the
high temperatures of our facility. The life time of CO2 was very short. Like
for 10 micro meter particle it is 0.65 ms. While the flow under steady state
conditions reaches the test section between 3-5 ms from the fast acting
valve of the Hypersonic Ludwieg tube. Then Titanium dioxide was
considered as seed material. Titanium dioxide TiO2 was selected as seeding
material. A relaxation time of 1.9 x 10-3 ms was calculated for the 0.2 µm
particle size, because on the basis of available information particles of this
size were expected after agglomeration.
Seeding generator was designed for the homogeneous distribution of the
particles into the wind tunnel. Proper design considerations were taken so
that the seeding generator can sustain pressure upto 50 bars. This include
the selection of proper material like stainless steel, calculations for the
effective thickness of the wall of the seeding generator and the proper
selection of the no and type of the bolts.
Pressure test was performed on seeding generator to ensure the safe
handling of seeding generator.
Prior to the commencement of real experiments synchronization issues of
the equipment were resolved. It was made sure that the laser running at
frequency (10Hz), and camera with frequency (1.25Hz) are perfectly
synchronized with the tunnel run time of 80ms. Further to this end, an offset
in the valve timing of the tunnel was created to make it sure that the laser
and camera triggering occurs when the flow is present in the test section.
The repeatability of the experiments was also ensured by measuring the
signals from fast acting valve and laser/camera.
Shock waves were resolved, corresponding to the available Schliern and
numerical results. Although the shocks are not as good resolved as in the

46
numerical work, but the results can be very well appreciated for the
presence of bow shock and reattachment shock. The velocities across the
shocks and free stream regions and the deflections of the flow are in
accordance with the numerical work with some bias error.
Particle position error was calculated. In this regard the equation derived by
(Richard and Raffel 2001[13]; Elsinga et al 2004a[14]) was used. The
density values to be used in this equation to find refractive index gradient
were taken from numerical work (TAU calculations) [11]. A Matlab code
was generated to compute the values. The calculated error values were
found very small due to the low density of the flow.

47
7 Recommendations for Future
Research
The current research work presents a successful application of planar (2D)
PIV in hypersonic flows. 3D PIV should be applied to hypersonic flows to
measure instantaneous 3D velocity fields. Of the already available 3D PIV
techniques (Holographic PIV, Scanning PIV and 3D Particle tracking
Velocimetry), Holographic PIV and 3D Particle tracking Velocimetry can
be applied to the hypersonic flows.

Holographic PIV(Hinsch 2002[15], Chan et al 2004[16], Arroyo and

Hinsch 2007[17]) is most fascinating technique. In this technique the light
scattered by the particles is made to interfere with the reference light beam.
The interference effect is then recorded locally onto the holographic plate.
Several millions of velocity vectors can be extracted from a good quality
hologram.
The problems of magnification and poor image contrast in the holographic
records can be eliminated by having the playback beam of the same
wavelength and wave front characteristics as the recording reference beam.

48
 8 References
1. M.Raffel,C.E.Willert,J.Kompenhans (2000): Particle Image
Velocimetry.
2. J.Westerweel, Meas.Sci.Tech.8,1997.
3. A.Melling(1997), Tracer Particles and seeding materials for particle
image velocimetry.
4. Durst F, Melling A and Whitelaw J H 1981 Principles and Practice of
Laser-Doppler Anemometry (London: Academic).
5. A.B. Basset, Treatise on hydrodynamics, vol. 2 (original publication
1888), Deighton, Bell and Co., Cambridge, 1961.
6. Raffel, M. Willert, C. Kompenhans J (1998): Particle Image
Velocimetry, A Practical Guide .
7. Samimy, M., Lele, S.K. (1991): Motion of particles with inertia in a
compressible free shear layer. Physics of Fluids.
8. Charles J. DeLapp, II, BS Major: USAF (2006), Particle image
velocimetry using novel, non-intrusive particle seeding.
9. M. Estorf, T.Wolf, and R.Radespiel: Experimental and numerical
investigations on the operation of the Hypersonic Ludwieg Tube
Braunschweig. 5th European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for
Space Vehicles, 2004.
10. Schwane, R.: Description of the testcase: MSTP workshop 1996
reentry aerodynamics and ground-to-flight extrapolation. Technical
Report YPA/1889/RS, ESTEC, Noordwijik (1996).
11. T.Wolf. M.Estrof. R.Radespiel ,(2007), Investigation of the starting
process in a Ludwieg tube .
12. G.E. Elsinga, B.W. van Oudheusden, F.Scarano (2005), Evaluation of
aero-optical distortion effects in PIV.
13. Richard H, Raffel M (2001) Principle and applications of the
background oriented schlieren (BOS) method. Meas Sci Technol
12:1576–1585.

49
14. Elsinga GE, van Oudheusden BW, Scarano F, Watt DW (2004a)
Assessment and application of quantitative schlieren methods:
calibrated color schlieren and background oriented schlieren.
Exp Fluids 36:309–325.
15. Hinsch KD (2002) Holographic particle image velocimetry. Meas Sci
Technol, Vol 13, R61-R72
16. Chan VSS; Koek WD; Barnhart DH; Bhattacharya N; Braat JJM;
Westerweel J (2004) Application of holography to fluid flow
measurements using bacteriorhodopsin (bR). Meas Sci Technol, Vol
15, 647-655
17. Arroyo MP; Hinsch KD (2007) Recent developments of PIV towards
3D measurements. In: Particle image velocimetry: New developments
and recent applications. Ed. Schröder A; Willert CE, Springer, Berlin
Heidelberg New York

50
Appendix A
Bolt Selection Formula

∆
.

Where,

∆ = total pressure on the surface (top lid),

A= Area of the surface (top lid),

= tensile strength of bolt,

S=Safety factor,

Abolt =Area of the bolt,

nbolt= no of bolts.

51
Appendix B

Particle Measurements

Experiment no 1

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 170 ml through the air
inlet port. The air was purged into the seeding generator through a pipe bent
at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particle Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
2 1 5 170
3 1 5 165
4 1 0 165
5 1 0 165
6 1 0 165
7 1 0 165
8 1 0 165

Seeding generator was opened and it was observed that great amount of
particles stick to the wall and also particles coagulated at the bottom.

52
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 2

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 200 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
2 1 70 200
3 1 35 130
2 1 50 95

Seeding generator was opened and a clump of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

53
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 3

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
2 1 50 400
3 1 42 350
2 1 55 308
3 1 42 253
4 1 40 211
5 1 0 211

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

54
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 4

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
4 1 14 400
5 1 14 386
4 1 50 372
5 1 14 322
4 1 32 308
5 1 20 276
4 1 20 256
5 1 14 242
4 1 0 242
6 1 0 242

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

55
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 5

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
6 1 20 400
7 1 8 380
8 1 20 372
6 1 15 352
7 1 8 337
8 1 0 337

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

56
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 6

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
3 2 0 400
4 2 2 400
5 2 1 398
3 2 8 397
4 2 8 389
5 2 6 383

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

57
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 7

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
6 2 2 400
7 2 2 398
8 2 5 396
6 2 0 391
7 2 0 391
8 2 0 391

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

58
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 8

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 400 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
6 5 1.8 400
7 5 0 398.2
8 5 0 398.2
9 5 0 398.2
10 5 0 398.2

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

59
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 9

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 210 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
10 5 14 210
10 5 3 196
10 5 12 193
10 5 7 181

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

60
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 10

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 250 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator through a pipe bent at 45° at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
7 5 16 234
8 5 0 218
8 5 0 218
9 5 0 218
10 5 0 2

Seeding generator was opened and clumps of particles as well as powdered

particles were observed.

61
 Particle Measurements

Experiment no 11

Seeding generator was filled with a particles volume 250 ml through its
mouth after removing the top lid. The air was purged into the seeding
generator with a pipe bent round at the bottom.

Observations
S.G=Seeding Generator
P.V=Pressure Vessel

S.G P.V Particles Seeding

Pressure(bar) Pressure(bar) Volume(ml) Level(ml)
10 5 50 250
10 5 50 5

62
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Master’s Degree Programme Telephone: +46 455-38 55 10
Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik Fax: +46 455-38 55 07
SE-371 79 Karlskrona, SWEDEN E-mail: [email protected]