Tomographic imaging of temperature and chemical species based on hyperspectral absorption spectroscopy

A novel technique has been developed to obtain simultaneous tomographic images of temperature and species concentration based on hyperspectral absorption spectroscopy. The hyperspectral information enables several key advantages when compared to traditional tomography techniques based on limited spectral information. These advantages include a significant reduction in the number of required projection measurements, and an enhanced insensitivity to measurements/inversion uncertainties. These advantages greatly facilitate the practical implementation and application of the tomography technique. This paper reports the development of the technique, and the experimental demonstration of a prototype sensor in a near-adiabatic, atmospheric-pressure laboratory Hencken burner. The spatial and temporal resolution enabled by this new sensing technique is expected to resolve several key issues in practical combustion devices.