Imaging the spray formation region of atomizing sprays is particularly challenging due to the presence of a variety of irregular liquid structures such as ligaments, liquid blobs, droplets, liquid sheets and a possible liquid core. The number and concentration of those liquid bodies dictates the presence of liquid/air interfaces, which are responsible to undesired scattering effects. The resulting images are blurred, ultimately concealing the real structure of the spray formation region.

Due to both scattering effects and the presence of highly irregular 3D liquid structures, the only measurement of liquid mass in the spray formation region is obtained using X-ray radiography. The generation of collimated X-rays pulsed has been done, in the past, by means of a synchrotron, thus limiting the number of studies that can be performed. 

In parallel to the use of X-rays, progresses in advanced laser imaging techniques for suppressing multiple scattering issues have been particularly important over the past decade. A very recent solution consists in using 2-photon excitation LIF laser sheet imaging.

In this paper, we report for the first time the possibility of simultaneously imaging an atomizing spray using X-ray absorption and 2-photon LIF planar imaging, where the simultaneous single-shot recordings are made over a 20mmx20mm viewed area. The spray is generated from a commercial fuel port injection system from which, water was injected.

The unique illumination/detection scheme proposed here was made possible thanks to the use of X-rays emitted from a laser plasma accelerator (betatron radiation). For this experiment, we use the High Intensity Laser system at Lund University that provides on target 800mJ, 38fs laser pulses. The emitted X-ray radiation is ranging from 1 to 10keV and peaking at ~2keV. It propagates outside of the vacuum chamber where an X-ray camera records the shadow of the liquid jet. In addition to that, a fraction of the laser pulse ~10mJ is directed on the liquid jet and focuses with a cylindrical lens where it induces fluorescence from a 2-photon excitation process in a dye -here, fluorescein- added to the liquid. The 2p-LIF images provide a great level of details on the size and shape of the liquid structures, optically sectioned by the light sheet, while the integrated liquid mass is extracted from the X-ray radiography. This is making the two imaging techniques highly complementary for the characterization of spray systems as well as for further understanding the physics related to liquid atomization.