Measurement of the structure coefficient of refractive index fluctuations in a turbulent premixed butane-air flame by means of a laser-based interferometer technique

•A two-holes interference pattern is built in the absence of the flame.•The zones of this pattern sensitive to the laser beam angle-of-arrival are detected.•The refractive index parameter is found from the displacement of the central fringe.•The power spectral density of the beam angle-of-arrival is computed and measured.•Both results are in agreement and reveal a −8/3 power law for high frequencies.

With a view to measuring the structure coefficient of refractive index fluctuations in a turbulent premixed butane-air flame, a thin laser beam is sent into the flame perpendicular to the flow direction. The laser beam generally undergoes fluctuations of direction, phase, and amplitude. Only the random deflections of the laser beam may be taken into account. After having traversed the flame, the perturbed laser beam enters into an interferometric system. Materials and experimental procedure are described. In the unperturbed interference pattern, the zones only sensitive to fluctuations of the angle-of-arrival of the laser beam are detected. From the random displacements of the central bright fringe, the structure coefficient of refractive index fluctuations in the flame is measured. To prove that the method of measurement is satisfactory, the result obtained is applied for computing the power spectral density of the angle-of-arrival of the laser beam from the formula of correlations of the laser beam deflection angles which we have demonstrated in previous works. This computed power spectral density is compared to that measured from the effective position of the detector. A good agreement is observed between the two results.