FIBER-OPTIC-BUNDLE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR HIGH PEAK POWER LASER PARTICLEIMAGE VELOCIMETRY ILLUMINATION

We demonstrate the design and implementation of a fiber-optic-bundle b eam delivery system for particle image velocimetry (PIV) applications. The system is designed for the transmission of high peak power pulses (> 20 mJ) from a Q-switched and frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser. A fib er bundle offers advantages over a single fiber in beam delivery syste ms for light sheet formation. The damage-limit-maximum power that can be transmitted is greater for the bundle than for any of its component fibers, and the quality of the derived light sheet is higher than tha t obtainable from a single large core fiber of power handling capacity equivalent to that of the bundle. The beam delivery system was demons trated in PIV measurements on a premixed propane-air flame. (C) 1996 A merican Institute of Physics.