Simultaneous Global Thermometry, Barometry, and Velocimetry Systems and Methods

Abstract

Microbeads include small preformed microbead substrates, which may comprise, for example, silica particles having a characteristic dimension less than 2 millimeters. A plurality of luminophores are applied to an exposed surface of the microbead substrates, wherein the luminophores are selected for detecting pressure and/or temperature. A plurality of luminophores absorb light at a predetermined wavelength to transition to an excited state, and they luminesce at different wavelengths when returning to the ground state. The luminescence may be phosphorescence or fluorescence. In some embodiments the microbeads include at least one pressure-sensitive luminophore, at least one temperature-sensitive luminophore, and at least one reference luminophore that is neither pressure-sensitive nor temperature-sensitive. In some embodiments the microbeads are configured for use in digital particle image velocimetry.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.