Simultaneous determination of size and velocity of microspheres in flow by polarization analysis of the scattered light

Abstract

Abstract A particle sizing method based on the analysis of polarization status of light scattered by targeted particles is introduced, with the polarization ratio of scattered light obtained through particle image processing. The optical setup was combined with PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) for the simultaneous determination of particle velocity field. The presented granulometry and velocimetry method was applied to determine the size distribution of DEHS particles dispersed in ambient air generated by an aerosol generator. With the particle velocity field acquired simultaneously, the size distributions of DEHS particles under different operating pressures obtained from the presented method were compared with standard values provided by the manufacturer and showed a good correspondence, which proved it to be a promising flow field diagnostic technique.