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• Tauro, F
• Mocio, G
• Rapiti, E
• Grimaldi, S
• Porfiri, M
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• Tauro, F
• Mocio, G
• Rapiti, E
• Grimaldi, S
• Porfiri, M
• [+] on PubMed
• Tauro, F
• Mocio, G
• Rapiti, E
• Grimaldi, S
• Porfiri, M

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Sensors 2012, 12(11), 15827-15840; doi:10.3390/s121115827

Article

Assessment of Fluorescent Particles for Surface Flow Analysis

Flavia Tauro ^1,2,3 , Gabriele Mocio ⁴ , Emiliano Rapiti ¹ , Salvatore Grimaldi ^1,3,4  and Maurizio Porfiri ^1,*

¹ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA ² Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00184, Italy ³ Honors Center of Italian Universities, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00184, Italy ⁴ Dipartimento per l'Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali, University of Tuscia, Viterbo 01100, Italy

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 9 October 2012; in revised form: 8 November 2012 / Accepted: 12 November 2012 / Published: 14 November 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in Italy 2012)

Download PDF Full-Text [824 KB, uploaded 14 November 2012 11:13 CET]

Abstract: In this paper, a systematic performance assessment of the measurement system for surface flow analysis developed by our group in (Tauro et al., Sensors, 2010) is presented. The system is based on the detection of buoyant fluorescent microspheres through alow-cost apparatus, which incorporates light sources to elicit fluorescence response and a digital camera to identify the particles' transit. Experiments are conducted using green fluorescent particles and further tests are executed to evaluate the system performance forred and orange particles varying in emission wavelength, degree of biocompatibility, and cost. The influence of the following parameters on surface flow sensing using fluorescent beads is investigated: (i) distance of the light sources from the water surface, (ii) presence of an ad-hoc filter tuned at the particle emission wavelength, (iii) camera resolution and frame rate, (iv) flow regime, and (v) ambient light. Experimental results are used to inform implementation guidelines for surface flow analysis in natural environments.

Keywords: fluorescent particles; hydrologic tracers; sensors technologies; surface flow; velocimetry

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