Laser-based absorption spectroscopy can be utilised in numerous industrial applications to measure species concentrations for process control, combustion diagnostics, environmental monitoring and emissions measurement, and can be applied in various forms (wavelength modulation spectroscopy - WMS, cavity ringdown spectroscopy - CRDS, photo-acoustic spectroscopy - PAS). The Centre for Applied High Resolution Spectroscopy (CAHRS), within the Centre for Microsystems and Photonics in the EEE department has over 20 years of experience implementing these techniques with a number of industrial and academic partners, including Rolls-Royce, LG Fuel Cells, Optosci Ltd, M Squared Lasers, Universities of Manchester, Edinburgh and Southampton.
One of the main goals of this project is to assess novel methods for tomographic image reconstruction by exploiting recent theoretical advances in WMS-based measurements that promise to image not only the species concentration of a gas, but also its temperature and pressure profiles .
The aim of this studentship is to develop a high frame rate WMS approach for water vapour concentration and system temperature measurements. The student will begin by understanding the complexities of calibration free wavelength modulation techniques. They will then model theoretical absorption spectra to ascertain which spectral features of the target gas are suitable for measurement in a combustor. The chosen spectra will then be measured experimentally to ensure suitability, and to measure the temperature dependence of their broadening parameters. They will then develop real-time algorithms and sensor systems to allow in-situ combustor measurements of water vapour and combustor temperature.