SCHLIEREN SYSTEMS

S. B. Verma
Experimental Aerodynamics Division

Lecture Course on
Advanced Flow Diagnostic Techniques
National Aerospace Laboratories
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Bangalore
17-19 Sept. 2008
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Table of Contents

1.0 Conventional Schlieren System …………… ………………………………………. 3

2.0 Shadowgraphy ……………………………………………………………………… 4
3.0 High Speed Imaging ………………………………………………………………... 6
4.0 Color Schlieren System …………………………………………………………….. 8
4.1 Need for Color Schlieren …………………………………………………………. 8
4.2 Color Schlieren in the Simplest Form ……………………………………………. 8
4.3 Dissection Technique …………………………………………………………….. 9
5.0 Laser Schlieren System …………………………………………………………….. 12
5.1 Principle ………………………………………………………………………….. 12
5.2 Set Up …………………………………………………………………………….. 12
5.3 Procedure …………………………………………………………………………. 14

References ....................................................................................................................... 17

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1. CONVENTIONAL SCHLIEREN SYSTEM

Schlieren (from German; singular "schliere") are optical inhomogeneities in transparent

material not visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to
produce high-quality lenses void of these inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneities are
localized differences in optical path length that cause light deviation. The refractive index
n=c0 /c of a transparent medium indicates this change, where c is the light speed in the
medium and c0 is the celebrated universal speed limit, 3x108 m/s, of light in vacuum. For
air and other gases there is a simple linear relationship between the refractive index and
the gas density ρ:

n= 1+k(λ) ρ

where k is the Gladstone-Dale constant that depends on the light wavelength λ. For air at
standard conditions and given visible illumination, k is about 0.23cm3/g. From this we
can see that `n’ is only weakly dependent upon ρ. A change of air density of two orders of
magnitude causes only a 3% change of n. Thus, if we are to detect small gas density
variations, we will need very sensitive optics.

Schlieren flow visualization is based on the deflection of light by a refractive index

gradient. The index gradient is directly related to flow density gradient. As shown in Fig.
1 a “point” light source (S), is collimated by a first lens which focal point coincides with
the location of the source. Then the parallel light rays pass through the test section and a
second lens refocuses the beam to an image of the point source. Transparent schlieren
objects are not imaged at all until a knife-edge is added at the focus of the second lens.
The deflected light is compared to undeflected light at a viewing screen. The undisturbed
light is partially blocked by a knife edge. The light that is deflected toward or away from
the knife edge produces a shadow pattern depending upon whether it was previously
blocked or unblocked. This shadow pattern is a light-intensity representation of the
expansions (low density regions) and compressions (high density regions) which

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characterize flow. For this particular point of the schlieren object, the phase difference
caused by a vertical gradient ∂n/∂y in the test section is converted to an amplitude
difference and the invisible is made visible.

Figure 1: Schematic of a simple schlieren system with a point light source

A word about the orientation of the knife-edge: here shown horizontal, it detects only
vertical components ∂n/∂y ∝ ∂ρ/∂y in the schlieren object. That is, a simple knife-edge
affects only those ray refractions with components perpendicular to it. If the gradients in
the schlieren object are mainly horizontal - ∂n/∂x ∝ ∂ρ/∂x, then the knife-edge should be
placed vertically in the focus of the second lens.

When the size of the test section is large, the necessary light beam must have a large
diameter. In this case, the use of spherical mirrors is preferable to the one of lenses,
which are fairly expensive.

2. SHADOWGRAPHY

In its simplest form, a basic optical shadowgraph system uses light from a single
collimated source shining on, or from behind, a target object. The light diverging from
this source is transmitted through the test object, and a shadow pattern caused by an
inhomogeneous density field can be observed in a vertical plane at a distance l behind the
object. According to Schardin for high sensitivity in direct shadowgraph the following
should be adhered to namely, (i) Make the distance between the source and screen as
large as possible and, (ii) locate schlieren object halfway between the course and screen.

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More common for laboratory experiments is an arrangement with parallel light through
the flow, which might be bounded by viewing windows (Fig.2). This arrangement increases
the contrast of the observed flow twice that with diverging light. In either case variations in
refractive index caused by density gradients in the fluid distort the collimated light beam. This
distortion creates a spatial variation in the intensity of the light, which can be visualised directly
with a shadowgraph system. The shadowgraphy, therefore, displays the ray displacement
resulting from the deflection є, i.e. ∂є / ∂y. Thus the differences in light intensity are proportional
to the second spatial derivative (Laplacian) of the refractive index field in the transparent medium
under study. Unlike schlieren system a shadowgraph is not a focused image, rather it is a mere
shadow.

Condenser lens

Light є
d
source
Source slit

Figure 2: Schematic of a simple parallel-light shadowgraph system

If the lateral scale of schlieren object features is small, e.g., shock waves and turbulent
flows, then shadowgraphy have an advantage of high sensitivity (by way of its double
differentiation). And since it is a shadow the dark regions mark where the deflected rays
originate while bright zones mark where these rays end up. But gradual
phenomena/weaker disturbances such as expansion waves do not show up. Figure 3 (a)-

Schlieren image Shadowgraph image

Figure 3: Comparison of flow details as shown by a schlieren and shadowgraph image

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(b) shows the schlieren and shadowgraph picture of the exhaust from an annular
aerospike nozzle at NPR=2.6 (using a continuous light source and a Nikon camera with a
300mm lens; shutter speed 1/8000 sec). The added information of expansion fans in the
schlieren image is clearly seen.This emphasizes the need of schlieren system which holds
the advantage of much higher sensitivity.

In schlieren photography, the collimated light is focused with a lens, and a knife-edge is
placed at the focal point, positioned to block about half the light. In flow of uniform
density this will simply make the photograph half as bright. However in flow with
density variations the distorted beam focuses imperfectly and parts which have focussed
in an area covered by the knife-edge are blocked. The result is a set of lighter and darker
patches corresponding to positive and negative fluid density gradients in the direction
normal to the knife-edge. When a knife-edge is used, the system is generally referred to
as a schlieren system, which measures the first derivative of density in the direction of the
knife-edge. If a knife-edge is not used, the system is generally referred to as a
shadowgraph system, which measures the second derivative of density.

Despite these distinctions, both schlieren and shadowgraphy are integrating optical
systems that project line-of-sight information onto a viewing screen. To visualise
instantaneous phenomena, a short duration flash (rather than continuous illumination)
may be used.

3. HIGH SPEED IMAGING

High speed imaging methods further extend our ability to capture the otherwise invisible
events that are too fast for us to see with a normal camera. In this case, a single image of
sufficiently-short exposure time provides the necessary critical insight. Exposure time
plays a central role in freezing the motion of flow structures which helps gain better
insight into the flow phenomena and also enhance quality of image acquired. This is
desired as long exposures average out turbulence and reveals weak stationary phenomena

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while short exposure freezes all motion, turbulence included. Thus the sensitivity of
schlieren system also depends upon the exposure time. Fig. 4 (a) shows the schlieren
image of a flow over an afterbody 2 using a Pal-Flash (Model 501/S) with a flash duration
of 750ns. The same can be achieved if you have a continuous light source but a high
speed camera capable of taking thousands of pictures in a second. Figure 4 (b) shows a
schlieren picture taken with a 2000fps (1024 x 512 resolution) FASTCAM-X PCI high
speed PHOTRON camera with a continuous light source.

(a) (b)

Figure 4: Schlieren pictures using (a) short duration flash lamp and (b) high speed camera

The exposure time ∆t required to minimize blur, can be calculated using Hyzer’s [1]
formula
lb
∆t =
mV cosθ

Where lb is the blur length, m is the image magnification, V is the speed of the
event/phenomena observed, and θ is the angle between the direction of motion and
image plane.

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4. COLOR SCHLIEREN SYSTEM

4.1 Need for Color Schlieren
In black and white Schlieren, the image of the investigated flow shows density gradients
in different shades of grey. With a color schlieren technique these refractive index
gradients are visualized by different colors, which are easier to distinguish for the human
eye than the different shades of grey 3,4. Further the conventional black and white Toepler
schlieren system displays only those refractive index gradients which deflect light normal
to its knife-edge. But color schlieren technique can be used to produce an image in which
refractive index gradients in all radial direction are displayed and directionally color-
coded. This provides an extra dimension and added sensitivity to the various flow
features by enhancing the contrast of the displayed information. In addition to wind
tunnel flows, this technique has a very important application in strongly particle laden
flows where additionally a reduction of the light intensity on the image is caused by
scattering, absorption, etc. by the particle phase itself 5. So the interpretation of the
occurring processes is more difficult in scales of grey.

4.2 Color Schlieren in the Simplest Form

Reinberg6 was the true inventor of color schlieren. He used a two-color cut-off filter that
produced an image equivalent to the standard black and white schlieren, except that the
gray scale is now replaced by a two-color-mixture scale with an added sensitivity gained
from color contrast. The two-color filter has had modifications over the years leading to a
wide variety of filter designs, Fig. 5. These have been used very commonly in
laboratories world-over, including NAL. However, with this type of arrangement other
than the added contrast by color-filter no additional information is gained relative to the
conventional black and white schlieren system, Fig. 6.

Source slit Color filter Source slit Sector filter Source slit Band filter

Reinberg, 1896 Wolter, 1950 Schardin, 1942

Figure 5 : Matched spatial filters for color schlieren imaging

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Figure 6: Color schlieren pictures using color filter at the knife edge location

4.3 Dissection Technique

Using a Color Schlieren method based on the Cords7 1-D dissection technique (and later
improved by Kleine8) a color filter source mask in the focal plane of the first Schlieren
mirror is positioned as can be seen on Fig. 7. It produces different colored light, which
represents different deflection angles and therewith different refractive index gradients.
So the intensity of the different colors are lowered, but not changed and still give the
same information about the refractive index gradients in the gas phase in a first
assumption.

Camera unit
Knife edge

Concave mirror Concave mirror

Fibre optic

Color filter
source mask
Flash lamp

Figure 7: Sketch of Color Schlieren Set Up

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δρ/δx

Figure 8: (a) Source filter based on Cords 1-D dissection technique and, (b) Color Schlieren
picture of a lens with a long focal length as a test object shows calibration of such a method.

Cords 1-D dissection technique separates the color bands in the source mask by a few
mm, so a narrow cut-off slit is no longer required to gain high sensitivity. Instead the
sensitivity is controlled by the degree of cut-off of the image of each color band, while
the spacing between the bands may be arbitrarily large. Since it requires four colors, Fig.
8, a good color contrast is achieved with opposing yellow-blue and red-green pairs in the
horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. A calibration of such an arrangement is
shown in Fig. 8 using a long focal length as a test object. This mask, therefore, produces
different colored light, which passes through the investigation area at different angles.
Therefore these colors represent different deflection angles and thus different refractive
index gradients. Note that the color scheme is adjusted in such a way that green
represents zero density gradient. The direction of increasing density gradient is also
indicated.

Figures 9 (a) and (b) show the color schleiren images of an overexpanded thrust
optimized parabolic nozzle (NPR=35, area-ratio=30 and design Mach number 4.5) taken
using such a dissection technique with knife edge in horizontal and vertical positions,
respectively. The set up uses a Xenon flash light by Drello with a flash duration of 13μs
and a flash energy of 18 J. Figure 10 shows color schlieren images from an overexpanded
truncated ideal contour nozzle (area-ratio =20, NPR=60 and design Mach number 4). The
clarity of flow details and the added contrast to the image shows the importance of
adopting such a technique.

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(a) (b)

Figure 9: Magnified Color Schlieren picture of exhaust from a thrust optimized parabolic
nozzle (a) with horizontal knife edge and, (b) vertical knife edge

(a) (b)

Figure 10: Color Schlieren pictures of the exhaust from a truncated ideal contour nozzle
(a) with horizontal knife edge and, (b) vertical knife edge

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5. LASER SCHLIEREN SYSTEM

5.1 Principle
The principle of operation of the laser schlieren system is based on the ordinary schlieren
principle, except that the signals so obtained can be correlated to the fluctuating density
gradient field integrated across the span of the flow. The system thus makes use of the
fluctuations in the refractive index to produce voltage signal fluctuations instead of
absorption and scattering methods used earlier 9. In this respect the laser schlieren method
seems to be more promising because:
¾ the schlieren signals are more directly related to a property of the flow, i.e.,
density 10
¾ the use of a knife-edge permits control over the measurement of much smaller
density gradient fluctuations than is possible with the other two systems, and
¾ the system is more accessible, since it depends on a narrow sheet of laser, and
simple in operation that helps obtain flow field details in a very straightforward
way.
The best application of such an arrangement can be to study unsteady flow field
conditions in complex flow geometries which limits fabrication of pressure taps and in
extreme temperature environments that prohibit the use of conventional transducers for
flow field analysis.

5.2 Set Up
Figure 11 shows aschematic of the laser schlieren set-up while Fig. 12 shows a picture of
the set up used in the test lab. The set-up comprises of a low-power (15mW) diode laser
mounted on an optical bench with provision for manual vertical (Y -direction) movement
and for rotation in the X–Y plane for adjustments (of the laser sheet) to any inclination on
the model surface. This mounting frame is fixed on to a motorized bed (which in turn is
fixed to the main supporting frame) to facilitate movement in the X-direction. The main
supporting frame is mounted on a table isolated from the wind-tunnel unit so that the
voltage signals from the test flow field are free from the wind-tunnel vibrations (see Figs.
11 and 12). The photodiode array unit (Fig. 12) is mounted on the opposite side of the
mounting frame which places it on the opposite side of the test section. A knife-edge is

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Figure 11: Schematic of the laser schlieren set-up

Laser schlieren mount

Photodiode array
Laser optics

Rotatable mount Knife edge

Figure 12: Set up on the wind tunnel Figure 13: Photodiode array arrangement

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placed ahead of the photodiode array to control the sensitivity of the voltage signal so
obtained, Fig. 13. The photodiode array used was a 16-element linear silicon PIN
photodiode array (RS stock no 194-060) housed in a hermetically sealed 24-pin ceramic
d.i.l. package. The photodiodes, each with an active area of 0.66 mm2, were arranged on a
1 mm pitch in common cathode configuration. The response time per diode, as quoted by
the manufacturer, was 4 ns. The arrangement helps provide qualitative insights into the
off-surface fluctuating density gradient field.

5.3 Procedure
During operation, a parallel laser sheet is passed through the test section which on
interaction with an oscillatory shock causes the diffracted light to appear periodically.
This laser sheet carrying the flow information is received by an array of 16 photodiodes
placed on the opposite side of the test section and a time trace so obtained shows
unsteady voltage signals 10-12.

With the response time of the photodiodes being extremely small, extremely high-
frequency density gradient fluctuations can be detected using this optical arrangement. It
is worth mentioning here that the tunnel boundary layer through which the laser sheet
penetrates does influence the flow measurements. However, it may be emphasized that
the tunnel wall boundary layer is equally influences each photodiode measurement
irrespective of its position in the freestream/interactive field, i.e. each photodiode will
experience the freestream plus tunnel wall boundary layer as shown in Fig. 14.

Figure 14: Experimental procedure followed for flowfield analysis using laser schlieren system.

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Reattachment shock

Separation bubble
Separation shock
Main shock

Figure 15: Schlieren image of the SWBLI on a 24◦compression ramp corner in Mach 9 flow

Motorized bed

Figure 16: Time-dependent fluctuating density gradient profiles with the laser sheet
perpendicular to the freestream direction; in the vicinity of separation location X/L = 0.43

Figure 17: (a) Time-dependent fluctuating density gradient profiles close to the model surface
near the separation location; the laser sheet targeted parallel to the freestream direction and the
model surface (b) Sketch of the separation shock system as developed from the above profiles

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Figure 15 shows the schlieren picture of SWBLI on a 24o compression ramp in a Mach
9.0 flow. A scale is mounted on the schlieren window to later on target the laser schlieren
system at the location of interest. Figures 16 and 17 show the density gradient profiles
obtained with the laser sheet perpendicular to the freestream direction and parallel to the
freestream direction and the model surface, respectively. The inflection point, Fig. 16,
indicating the separation shock is seen to move up and down indicating flow unsteadiness
caused by the low frequency expansion and contraction motion of separation bubble.
Figure 17 shows the three streamwise inflection points each of which is seen to vary in
strength and axial location with time. This gives a strong indication of the layer
appearance of separation shock as well as it’s back and forth motion11. Since real-time
density gradient data is available at each of the points in the profile further analysis such
as frequency spectrum, autocorrelation and cross-correlation can be carried out to extract
further flow details.

SUMMARY
¾ The laser schlieren system helps detect unsteady shock motion that can be used
to obtain a point by point analysis of the interactive flow
¾ Useful details such as velocity and amplitude of shock motion, fluctuation
frequency, etc. can be acquired using this technique
¾ The capability of the instrument to capture such details in hypersonic flows is
very important

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References

1. Hyzer, W.G. Engineering and scientific high-speed photography. The Macmillan

Company, New York, Ed. 1, 1962.
2. Venkatakrishnan, L., Suriyanarayanan, P. and Mathur, N.B., “BOS Density
measurements in Afterbody Flows with shock and Jet effects”, AIAA 2007 – 4223.
3. G.S. Settles: Color Schlieren Optics - A Review of Techniques and Applications. Flow
Visualization (Merzkirch, W., Ed.), Hemishpere Publishing Corporation, New York,
1980.
4. G.S. Settles: Schlieren and Shadowgraph Techniques. ISBN 3-540-66155-7, Springer-
Verlag, 2001.
5. Ciezki, H.K.,`` Investigation of the Combustion Behaviour of Solid Fuel Slabs in a
Planar Step Combustor’’, AIAA-99-2813.
6. Reinberg, J.,``On Addition to the Methods of Microscopical Research, by a new way of
Optically Producing Colour-Contrast between an Object and its Background, or between
definite parts of the Object itself’’, Journal of Royal Microsc. Society, Ser.2, 16 (8), pp
373-388, 1896.
7. Cords, P.,``A High Resolution, High Sensitivity Color Schlieren Method’’, S.P.J.E.
Journal, 6, 1968.
8. Kleine, H. and Groenig, H.,``Color Schlieren Methods in Shock Wave Research’’, Shock
Waves, 1 (1), pp. 51-63, 1991.
9. Funk, B.H. and Jhonston, K.D.,`` Laser Schlieren Cross-Beam Measurements in a
Supersonic Jet Shear Layer, AIAA Journal, 1970, 8, pp. 2074–5
10. Verma, S.B., ``Detection of Fluctuating Density Gradient Flow Field in Shock Wave
Boundary-Layer Interaction Using Laser Schlieren System’’, Experiments in Fluids,
2002, 32, (4), pp. 527-531
11. Verma, S.B.,``Experimental Study of Flow Unsteadiness in a Mach 9 Compression Ramp
Interaction Using a Laser Schlieren System’’, Measurement Science and Technology
Journal, 14, 2003, pp. 989-997
12. Verma, S.B. and Koppenwallner, G. Unsteady Separation in a Flare Induced Hypersonic
Shock-Wave Boundary-Layer Interaction, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2002, 39,
(3), pp. 467-470

Lecture Course On Advanced Flow Diagnostic Techniques, NAL, Sept 2008