We present two-dimensional measurements of the laser-induced plasma development and shock wave evolution in air. The breakdown is induced by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (
λ
=1064 nm) with a pulse ...duration of 4 ns. To study these fast laser-induced phenomena, we have developed a high-speed, two frame shadowgraph method. It enables 2D visualization of a laser-induced event in two time instances, which are delayed by an arbitrary time interval in the range from 300 ps to 30 ns. The established method is based on 30 ps, green (
λ
=532 nm), and linearly polarized laser pulse, which is split into two orthogonally polarized illumination pulses for direct and delayed illumination of the breakdown area. Exploiting polarization of the probe pulses, we capture two temporally and spatially separated frames with two CCD cameras. Special attention is given to the subsequent data processing, especially to the minimization of the systematic error due to alignment of both images, and to the determination of 2D velocity distribution from the captured image pairs.
The influence of quadrature phase shift on the measured displacement error was experimentally investigated using a two-detector polarizing homodyne laser interferometer with a quadrature detection ...system. Common nonlinearities, including the phase-shift error, were determined and effectively corrected by a robust data-processing algorithm. The measured phase-shift error perfectly agrees with the theoretically determined phase-shift error region. This error is systematic, periodic and severely asymmetrical around the nominal displacement value. The main results presented in this paper can also be used to assess and correct the detector errors of other interferometric and non-interferometric displacement-measuring devices based on phase-quadrature detection.
This paper presents a laser-based system for a local transformation of the magnetic properties in austenitic stainless steel. The process is applied to linear actuators with an integrated, in-axis ...position measurement where durability and high precision are needed. The developed system consists of a 400-W, single-mode fiber laser, the focusing optics, and a three-axis actuation system. An important feature is the optical feedback for the adaptive, high-speed (40 kHz) laser power regulation. The experimental results show that the optical feedback effectively compensates for the external disturbances, like an increased roughness and a gradual heat accumulation. The regulation decreases the dispersion of the magnetic signal’s response by more than 100% and shortens the transient time at the beginning of the inscription process from 100 to 15 ms.
During the interaction of a laser pulse with the surface of a solid object, the object always gains momentum. The delivered force impulse is manifested as propulsion. Initially, the motion of the ...object is composed of elastic waves that carry and redistribute the acquired momentum as they propagate and reflect within the solid. Even though only ablation- and light-pressure-induced mechanical waves are involved in propulsion, they are always accompanied by the ubiquitous thermoelastic waves. This paper describes 1D elastodynamics of pulsed optical manipulation and presents two diametrical experimental observations of elastic waves generated in the confined ablation and in the radiation pressure regime.
Erbium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser cleaning is a promising technique in endodontic treatment. In our in vitro study, we measured the vapor-bubble dynamics in the root canal by using shadow ...photography. The canal model was made of a plastic cutout placed between two transparent glass plates. An artificial smear layer was applied to the glass to study cleaning efficiency. In our results, no shock waves have been observed, since the pulp-chamber dimensions have been in the same range as the maximum diameter of the vapor bubble. This leads to the conclusion that shock waves are not the main cleaning mechanism within our model. However, the cleaning effects are also visible in the regions significantly below the bubble. Therefore, it can be concluded that fluid flow induced by the bubble's oscillations contributes significantly to the canal cleaning. We also proposed a simple theoretical model for cleaning efficiency and used it to evaluate the measured data.
Wound measuring serves medical personnel as a tool to assess the effectiveness of a therapy and predict its outcome. Clinically used methods vary from measuring using rules and calipers to ...sophisticated methods, based on 3D measuring. Our method combines the added value of 3D measuring and well-known segmentation algorithms to enable volume calculation and achieve reliable and operator-independent analysis, as we demonstrate in the paper.
Developed 3D measuring system is based on laser triangulation with simultaneous color acquisition. Wound shape analysis is based on the edge-determination, virtual healthy skin approximation over the wound and perimeter, area, and volume calculation. In order to validate the approach, eight operators analyzed four different wounds using proposed method. Measuring bias was assessed by comparing measured values with expected values on an artificially modeled set of wounds.
Results indicate that the perimeter, area, and volume are measured with a repeatability of 2.5 mm, 12 mm(2), and 30 mm(3), respectively, and with a measuring bias of -0.2 mm, -8.6 mm(2), 24 mm(3), respectively.
According to the results of verification and the fact that typical wound analysis takes 20 seconds, the method for wound shape measurement can be clinically used as a precise tool for objectively monitoring the wound healing based on measuring its 3D shape and color.
When an erbium-laser pulse is directed into water through a small-diameter fiber tip (FT), the absorption of the laser energy superheats the water and its boiling induces a vapor bubble. We present ...the influence of different FT geometries and pulse parameters on the vapor-bubble dynamics. In our investigation, we use a free-running erbium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) (
) laser that was designed for laser dentistry. Its pulse is directed into the water through FTs with a flat and conical geometry. Our results show that in the case of the conical FT, a spherical bubble is induced, while a channel-like bubble develops for the flat FT. The ratio between the mechanical energy of the liquid medium and the pulse energy, which we call the optodynamic energy-conversion efficiency, is examined using shadow photography. The results indicate that this efficiency is significantly larger when a conical FT is used and it increases with increasing pulse energy and decreasing pulse duration. The spherical bubbles are compared with the Rayleigh model in order to present the influence of the pulse duration on the dynamics of the bubble's expansion.
Marking plain surfaces using laser ablation is widely used in a serial production. However, during a laser marking of small laminated surfaces, a problem arises as a consequence of the gaps between ...the laminations; this tends to decrease the efficiency of the process. Therefore, a real-time measuring method that can be implemented in an industrial system for laser processing is required. In this contribution, we describe an optodynamic method for the on-line characterization of pulsed-laser marking of a laminated surface. The processing-laser beam generates an optodynamic response, i.e., the shock waves, which then spread into the surrounding gas. By using a laser-beam-deflection probe, the analysis of the obtained signals indirectly enables the real-time monitoring of the surface structure. Evaluation of the results obtained by our on-line measuring method is made by two techniques: non-destructive microscopy with extended depth of field and destructive cross-section measurements with optical microscopy. The performed experiments demonstrate that the established experimental system can simultaneously detect the changes in the laser-marking process. Furthermore, it can provide the position and the size of a gap as well as the orientation and the inclination of the samples.
Highlights • A new system for 3D foot-shape measurements during walking is developed. • The foot is analyzed during the complete stance phase at an arbitrary cross-section. • The extracted dimensions ...of the cross-section are width, height, girth and orientation. • The difference between a bare and a shod foot during walking is examined. • This methodology makes it possible to determine the shoe comfort more precisely.
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