Making gas distribution visible.
Analyze inhomogeneities.
Ensure process stability.
Injection and Gas Mixture
Determine the Quality of Combustion

Early stages of the process determine subsequent operations

Before hydrogen or ammonia can be burned efficiently, stably, and with low emissions, they must be distributed safely, mixed homogeneously, and fed into the system in a reproducible manner.
However, it is precisely in this early phase of the process that inhomogeneities, concentration gradients, backflow, or local over-enrichment often occur, which later have a direct impact on flame stability, emissions, and operational safety.

LaVision makes it possible to capture these processes with spatial and temporal resolution—in situations where localized sensors cannot provide information about actual flow and mixing behavior.

Optimization, therefore, does not begin with combustion, but rather starts consistently with air injection, gas distribution, and mixing.

Well-informed process decisions are made before incineration

LaVision analyzes actual gas and flow conditions in injection and mixing sections under industrial operating conditions. In particular, the following become visible and can be quantitatively evaluated:

  • Spatial Gas Distribution and Concentration Fields in Injection and Mixing Systems
  • Flow paths, velocity fields, and recirculation structures
  • Local inhomogeneities and concentration gradients
  • Dynamic mixing processes during load changes or fuel switching
  • Transient Effects and Non-Steady Flow Conditions
  • Interactions Between Air Injection, Geometry, and the Downstream Combustion Process

This provides a solid basis for the technical evaluation of injection and mixing concepts even before they enter the flame zone.

Industrial Value-Added: Reliably Meeting Process Requirements

Industrial injection and mixing systems must meet defined requirements for homogeneity, stability, and reproducibility. What matters here is not the model assumption, but the actual state under operating conditions.

Optical metrology enables the quantitative validation of these requirements:

  • Verification of mixing homogeneity across defined cross-sections
  • Assessment of Safety-Critical Concentration Ranges
  • Identification of Geometry-Induced Flow Instabilities
  • Reproducible documentation for development, scaling, and CFD validation

This makes it possible to technically evaluate, compare, and optimize injection and mixing processes.

Why Optical Measurement Technology Is Essential for Gas Injection and Gas Mixing

Injection and mixing processes can only be monitored to a limited extent using conventional point sensors or purely mathematical models. These provide individual values or idealized assumptions, but do not capture either the spatial distribution or the temporal dynamics of real gas and flow conditions.

Optical metrology provides a full-surface, time-resolved view of injection, flow, and mixing—under real-world pressure, temperature, and geometric conditions. This not only reveals deviations but also their causes: inhomogeneities, transient effects, and local concentration gradients can be specifically analyzed and evaluated.

From Real Gas Conditions to Reliable Process Knowledge

LaVision visualizes actual gas and flow conditions where they are critical to the subsequent process: inside pipes, mixing sections, fuel supply lines, and injection zones.

Gas distributions of hydrogen, ammonia, or mixed gases, as well as concentration and density gradients and flow structures such as recirculation or dead zones, can be measured over a wide area and as a function of time—as can transient effects during load changes or fuel switching.

This visual documentation is not an end in itself: The measurement data is systematically evaluated quantitatively, analyzed in terms of space and time, and made comparable across different geometries, operating conditions, or fuels. In this way, the visualization yields reliable process knowledge that serves as the foundation for well-informed decisions, targeted optimization steps, and CFD validation.

Relevant Measurement Approaches & Optical Analysis Methods

LaVision uses a variety of optical imaging techniques to analyze injection, mixing, and flow processes. The choice of technique is driven by the research question, not by the technology.

Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS)

BOS is a seeding-free, non-contact method for visualizing density and temperature gradients in gases. It is particularly well-suited for large-scale or safety-critical systems.
LaVision SprayMaster system testing fuel sprays for droplet distribution and spray pattern analysis

SprayMaster inspex – Spray Pattern and Droplet Size Analysis

For liquid energy carriers such as ammonia, SprayMaster inspex enables the quantitative analysis of injection and atomization processes. Relevant parameters include droplet size distributions, spray structure, and spray pattern.
LaVision system analyzing fuel injection spray for engine research and optimization

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

PIV is the established standard method for the quantitative measurement of flow fields. It provides spatially and temporally resolved velocity information and reveals flow structures, recirculation zones, dead zones, and mixing mechanisms.
LaVision SprayMaster LIF system visualizing spray and fuel injection patterns

Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) & Tracer-LIF

LIF techniques enable the visualization of concentration, density, and mixing fields. Using appropriate tracers, gas distributions, mixing efficiency, and inhomogeneities can be quantitatively measured—even under real operating conditions.

Multiparameter Approaches

In complex applications, flow, mixing, and temperature fields can be measured simultaneously, for example, through coupled PIV/LIF measurements.

Typical Applications

Burner and Injector Development
Premixing Systems for H₂ / NH₃ / Blends
Fuel-Switching Concepts
Safety and Risk Analyses

Typical Optimization Goals

Improved mixing uniformity
Reduced inhomogeneities
More stable operating conditions
A Reliable Foundation for Low-Emission Combustion

From the Gas Phase to Stable Combustion

Analyze Combustion & Emissions

Flame stability, dynamics, and emission formation based on actual mixture conditions

Hydrogen Combustion Analysis

Stabilizing and Safely Operating Highly Reactive Flames

Ammonia Combustion Analysis

Understanding Slow Reaction Kinetics and Designing for Low Emissions

NOx Combustion Analysis

Spatially and temporally resolved emission analysis

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Flow Visualization with LaVision FlowBOS

Point sensors provide only local measurements. Optical methods, on the other hand, capture two-dimensional concentration and flow fields, thereby enabling a comprehensive analysis of inhomogeneities and mixing structures.
Using areal concentration measurements via LIF or tracer-LIF. Statistical homogeneity parameters can be calculated from the measured concentration fields and compared across different operating conditions.
Yes. Time-resolved PIV and LIF measurements make it possible to study transient injection and mixing processes under real operating conditions.
Yes. The optical systems are designed for industrial environments and enable measurements under real-world conditions.
By directly comparing measured velocity and concentration fields with simulation results. Deviations become visible with spatial resolution.
Geometry has a significant influence on flow paths, recirculation, and mixing quality. Optical measurement methods make these effects visible and quantifiable.
Typical applications include hydrogen, ammonia, methane, as well as mixed gases and blends.

Targeted Analysis of Fuel Injection and Gas Mixture

Learn how to quantitatively measure and technically evaluate actual gas distributions, flow fields
, and mixing processes in your system.

Name *
Email *

By submitting the form, you agree to the processing of your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Name *
E-Mail *

Mit Absenden des Formulars erklären Sie sich mit unserer Verarbeitung Ihrer Daten gemäß der Datenschutzerklärung einverstanden.