Laser-Induced Fluorescence Techniques in Spray Dynamics
Summary
Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) methods have become indispensable for probing the complex behaviour of liquid sprays in applications ranging from combustion engines to agricultural nozzles. By introducing fluorescent tracer dyes into the liquid phase and illuminating sprays with a pulsed laser sheet, LIF captures two-dimensional maps of fuel concentration, droplet size distributions and temperature fields with high spatial and temporal resolution. The core challenge lies in suppressing artefacts due to multiple light scattering in dense sprays and correcting for laser-sheet non-uniformities, Mie scattering by droplets and fluorescent self-absorption. Recent advances integrate structured illumination to attenuate diffuse light, dual-colour ratio schemes for temperature measurement and combined LIF/Mie approaches to extract droplet sizing metrics. Together, these developments enable real-time visualisation of spray breakup, atomisation mechanisms and interaction with ambient gases, offering quantitative data essential for improving spray efficiency, reducing emissions and guiding the design of next-generation injectors and atomisers.
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Laser-Induced Fluorescence Techniques in Spray Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in laser-induced fluorescence techniques in spray dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF): A diagnostic technique where fluorescent tracers in a liquid are excited by a laser sheet and the emitted light is imaged to reveal concentration or temperature fields.
Structured Laser Illumination Planar Imaging (SLIPI): A method that uses spatially modulated laser sheets and phase-shifting to reject multiple scattered light, improving image contrast in dense sprays.
Mie scattering: Elastic scattering of light by droplets whose size is comparable to the wavelength, used in conjunction with LIF to derive droplet size distributions.
Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD): A single metric representing the ratio of droplet volume to surface area, widely used to characterise average droplet size in sprays.
References
- Droplet size, spray structure and droplet velocity mapping in hollow cone sprays using SLIPI-based techniques. Chemical Engineering Science (2024).
- Comparison between two-phase and one-phase SLIPI for instantaneous imaging of transient sprays. Experiments in Fluids (2017).
- Thermometry in aqueous solutions and sprays using two-color LIF and structured illumination. Optics Express (2016).
- Application of structured illumination for multiple scattering suppression in planar laser imaging of dense sprays.. Optics Express (2008).
- Reliable LIF/Mie droplet sizing in sprays using structured laser illumination planar imaging. Optics Express (2014).
- Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence fuel concentration measurements in isothermal Diesel sprays.. Optics Express (2002).
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