A fluorescence technique for measurement of slot injected fluid concentration profiles in a turbulent boundary layer

A technique for measuring near instantaneous concentration profiles of a fluid injected through a narrow inclined slot at the wall into a high unit Reynolds number flat plate turbulent boundary layer is discussed. The concentration profiles are determined by measuring the light intensity emitted from a fluorescent dye, premixed into the injectant flow, as the injectant convects through an excitation laser beam. The fluorescence intensity is quantified by an electronically shuttered single stage microchannel plate image intensifier coupled to a linear photodiode array. This instrumentation provided the high spatial and temporal resolution required for these boundary layer concentration profile measurements. The laser induced fluorescence technique is being used to study the diffusion of injected polymer solutions away from the near wall region of the boundary layer where these solutions are effective in reducing drag. The diffusion of slot injected water has also been examined and the present results are in excellent agreement with previous studies.