Laser Beam Apparatus for Flow Visualization

Abstract

The laser beam apparatus for flow visualization technique is designed for advancements in fields like fluid dynamics through different enhanced flow visualization techniques as presented in this paper. The use of a powered laser source in conjunction with smoke allows for the possibility of observing and analyzing the fluid flow patterns over the body. The smoke acts as tracer particles for determining the flow patterns including laminar, turbulent and transitional behaviours. During this study, a combination of three approaches was used to reach the final comparison stage of the results, which are analytical, computational and experimental approaches. We investigated the flow of the fluid as it passes over a NACA 0012 airfoil in a custom-built wind tunnel. A low percentage error of 9.59% was obtained between the analytical and the experimental velocities. The results obtained accurately validate the apparatus setup effectiveness in representing the flow phenomena and giving further in-sights as to the interactions of boundary layers along with vortex formations. This study does not just suggest that the apparatus is capable for research and educational setting but also possess some potential applications in aerospace engineering, automotives design and environmental fluid studies.