Three-dimensional visualization and quantitative characterization of gaseous flames

This paper presents a novel instrumentation system for the three-dimensional visualization and quantitative characterization of gaseous flames. The system consists of three monochromatic CCD cameras, a frame grabber and a computer with dedicated software. The three cameras, placed equidistant and equiangular from each other around the flame being monitored, capture the two-dimensional images of the flame simultaneously from the three different directions. Dedicated computing algorithms have been developed to reconstruct three-dimensional models of the flame using its contours extracted from the two-dimensional images. A set of geometric parameters, including volume, surface area, orientation, length and circularity, are defined to characterize the flame from the model generated. The accuracy and spatial resolution of the system are evaluated using purpose-designed templates. A series of experiments was conducted on a gas-fired combustion rig to evaluate the performance of the system. The results obtained demonstrate that the system is capable of measuring three-dimensional geometric parameters of a flame over a range of combustion conditions.