FLOW VISUALIZATION OF NATURAL CONVECTIONS UNDER COMPLEX CONDITIONS USING A MACH-ZEHNDER INTERFEROMETER

摘要

The investigations show that the Mach-Zehnder interferometer is quite suitable for the visualization of natural convection under complex conditions. The application requires diffraction differences in the transilluminated fluid which depend on the flow to be investigated. Therefore the technique is particularly useful for the observation and analysis of the flow processes in which the heat transfer phenomena is important. In addition, the experimental technique is considerably simplified in comparison to the holographic interferometry. The presented examples show a few possiblities of application at natural convection under complex conditions.