Schlieren Interferometry An Optical Method for Determining Temperature and Velocity Distributions in Liquids

Abstract

Using schlieren interferometric methods and a gas laser source, the temperature distributions near a warm, vertical brass plate immersed in water at a slightly lower temperature (∼2°C) have been determined. For small temperature differences a linear relation between temperature and index of refraction is assumed. Knowledge of the temperature distribution, combined with the hydrodynamic equations for laminar flow, permits calculation of the velocity profiles within the laminar boundary layer.