Experimental Investigations of Near-critical Fluid Phenomena by the Application of Laser Diagnostic Methods

Abstract

Physics of supercritical fluids is extremely complex and not yet fully understood. The importance of the presented investigations into the physics of supercritical fluids is twofold. First, the presented approach links the microscopic dynamics and macroscopic thermodynamics of supercritical fluids. Second, free falling droplets in a near to supercritical environment are investigated using spontaneous Raman scattering and a laser induced fluorescence/phosphorescence thermometry approach. The resulting spectroscopic data are employed to validate theoretical predictions of an improved evaporation model. Finally, laser induced thermal acoustics is used to investigate acoustic damping rates in the supercritical region of pure fluids.