| Combustion is the most widely used energy conversion technique in the world. Diode-laser absorption sensors offer significant opportunities and advantages for in situ measurements of multiple combustion parameters such as temperature and species concentration due to their high sensitivity, high spectral resolution, fast time response, robustness and non-intrusive character. The overall objective of this thesis is to design and develop time-resolved and real-time tunable diode laser sensors with the potential for combustion control.; A crucial element in the design of a tunable-diode-laser optical-absorption-based sensor is the selection of optimum transitions. The strategy and spectroscopic criteria for selecting optimum wavelength regions and absorption line combinations are developed. The development of this design-rule approach establishes a new paradigm to optimize tunable diode laser sensors for target applications.; The water vapor spectrum in the 1-2 mum near-infrared region is systematically analyzed to find the best absorption transition pairs for sensitive measurement of temperature in the target combustion environment using a single tunable diode laser. Two sensors are developed in this work. The first sensor is a 1.8 mum, single-laser temperature sensor based on direct absorption scans. Successful time-resolved measurements in a variety of laboratory and practical devices are presented and used to identify potential improvements, and design rules for a second-generation sensor are developed based on the lessons learned. The second generation sensor is a 1.4 mum, single-laser temperature sensor using water vapor absorption detected by wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (WMS), which facilitates rapid data analysis and a 2 kHz real-time data rate in the combustion experiments reported here. Demonstration experiments in a heated cell and a forced Hencken burner confirm the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensors. The first application of TDL thermometry to a liquid-fuel swirl-stabilized spray combustor also is presented, illustrating the potential for noninvasive temperature measurements in harsh, practical environments such as gas turbine combustors.; The ability of the 1.4 mum temperature sensor to predict the approach to the lean blowout (LBO) limit is investigated, and active control of thermoacoustic instabilities is successfully demonstrated in a practical swirl-stabilized flame. These results illustrate the potential of this sensor for active combustion control. |
