AN IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THERMOTIC DISTRIBUTIONS UTILIZING LIQUID CRYSTALS

One of the most time-consuming and difficult problems in heat transfer and fluid dynamics is to determine the velocity and/or the temperature field, especially when the temperatures depend on the fluid motion, as in convection flows. In three-dimensional (3D) convective flows the distribution of temperature can be very complex and it may be necessary to make measurements in a large number of locations, using numerous sensors, in order to resolve them. This problem can be ameliorated by using liquid crystals as sensors.