Ballistic imaging of liquid breakup processes in dense sprays

Ballistic imaging is the name applied to a category of optical techniques that were originally developed for medical applications. Recently, ballistic imaging was adapted to acquire instantaneous images of the liquid core inside atomizing sprays; a region that has been heretofore inaccessible to spray researchers. An important difference between spray research and the medical imaging problem is the need for high fidelity single-shot (within 10 Î¼s) imaging in a spray whereas stationary tissue images can be averaged. Transient ballistic imaging diagnostics have been used to reveal details of the primary breakup process in a LOX injector, a turbulent water jet, a water jet in cross-flow, a transient diesel fuel spray, a rocket fuel injector, and an aerated spray. This paper briefly discusses various methods for imaging the liquid core, it introduces ballistic imaging and provides specific examples, it describes detailed studies of photon transmission through dense media, and it then discusses incorporation of those results into a model for a ballistic imaging instrument that can evaluate and optimize various concepts.