Schlieren & Shadowgraph Techniques [Hardcover]

G.S. Settles (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3540661557 | ISBN-13: 978-3540661559 | Publication Date: July 28, 2006 | Edition: Corrected

Schlieren and shadowgraph techniques are basic and valuable tools in various scientific and engineering disciplines. They allow us to see the invisible: the optical inhomogeneities in transparent media like air, water, and glass that otherwise cause only ghostly distortions of our normal vision.

These techniques are discussed briefly in many books and papers, but there is no up-to-date complete treatment of the subject before now. The book is intended as a practical guide for those who want to use these methods, as well as a resource for a broad range of disciplines where scientific visualization is important. The colorful 400-year history of these methods is covered in an extensive introductory chapter accessible to all readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the first edition:

... This reviewer recommends Schlieren and Shadowgraph Techniques: Visualizing Phenomena in Transport Media to anyone interested in optical systems for flow visualization, and other studies benefiting from visualization of physical phenomena of transparent media. Even in the current period of competition for resources, an engineering librarian should carefully consider the customer's needs before deciding not to add this book to the library's collection. (from Applied Mechanics Reviews, 55, 4, B76, July 2002)

"If you use or are interested in schlieren or shadowgraph research, you really need this text. … This book not only covers the theory behind the techniques, but it also shows what is needed to get started, by showing how to design and setup a system." (IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, Vol. 19 (6), 2003)

"The author begins with an interesting description of historical background, beginning with the ‘micrografia’ of Hooke (1665). … After explaining basic concepts like the light propagation through inhomogeneous media, the distinction between schlieren and shadowgraph methods are pointed out. … It is an extremely useful book for the users of these techniques." (W. Wuest, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 987 (12), 2002)

"Schlieren and shadowgraph techniques are basic and valuable tools in various scientific and engineering disciplines. They allow us to see the invisible: the optical inhomogeneities in transparent media like air, water and glass that otherwise cause only ghostly distortions of our normal vision. This book is intended as a practical guide for those who want to use these methods, as well as a resource for a broad range of disciplines where scientific visualization is important." (ETDE – Energy Database, April, 2002)

From the Back Cover

Schlieren and shadowgraph techniques are basic and valuable tools in various scientific and engineering disciplines. They allow us to see the invisible: the optical inhomogeneities in transparent media like air, water, and glass that otherwise cause only ghostly distortions of our normal vision.
These techniques are discussed briefly in many books and papers, but there is no up-to-date complete treatment of the subject before now. The book is intended as a practical guide for those who want to use these methods, as well as a resource for a broad range of disciplines where scientific visualization is important. The colorful 400-year history of these methods is covered in an extensive introductory chapter accessible to all readers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Springer; Corrected edition (July 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540661557
• ISBN-13: 978-3540661559
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary Settles was born in 1949 and grew up on a farm at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. His interest in fluid dynamics, optics, and experiments began as a teenager with the construction of small subsonic and super-sonic wind tunnels, winning awards at the 1967 International Science Fair. He gained industrial and laboratory experience through summer jobs at the US Naval Ordnance Lab, NASA's Ames Research Center, and the Boeing Company, where he worked on both 747 and SST aerodynamics. He studied at the University of Tennessee under an Alcoa Foundation scholarship, receiving the Bachelor of Sci-ence Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1971.
Supported by an NSF Traineeship at Princeton University, he studied shock wave/boundary-layer interactions under Prof. Seymour Bogdonoff (1921-2005), earning his Ph.D. degree in 1976. For three years he was a Research Scientist in the Princeton Combustion Lab Division of Flow Research, Inc., where he led a project to define a national program in energy-efficient pump utilization. He then joined the Research Staff of Princeton University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dept., where he conducted research and managed the Gas Dynamics Laboratory.
In 1983 Settles was appointed Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University, where he established the Penn State Gas Dynamics Lab. He was promoted to full professor in 1989. The Penn State Gas Dynamics Lab has become well-known for its work in high-speed viscous-inviscid interactions and optical flow diagnostics. Research by Settles and his students on these topics was honored by the Penn State Engineering Society with its 1986 Award for Out-standing Research and its 1992 Premiere Researcher Award.
The strong visual and artistic nature of the optical flow visualization practiced by Settles has been used in many film and television documentaries, museum ex-hibits, books, encyclopedias and magazines around the world. Examples include the award-winning film "Search for Solutions," the CBS science series "Universe", the NBC "Today Show," CNN's "Science News," the series "Scientific Imagery" on German Public Television (NDR), the Learning Channel's series "Body Atlas," and the 3-D IMAX film 'The Hidden Dimension.' Settles has also presented many invited lectures and seminars in the US, Europe, Russia, China, and Japan.
Beginning in 1992, the Penn State Gas Dynamics Lab redirected its research, emphasizing applications of gas dynamics, nozzles, and flow visualization to 'non-traditional' problems in areas ranging from surface engineering and materials processing to rheology and aviation security. This has since resulted in several inventions, the world's largest indoor optical flow visualization system, and a new aviation security screening portal based on the human thermal plume.
Fourteen Ph.D.'s and many Masters-degree and undergraduate scholars have been educated by Prof. Settles at Penn State. He currently teaches a 2-semester lecture sequence on compressible flows, and takes recourse in oil painting and classical music as antidotes to the rigors of an academic career.
The Settle/Suttle family immigrated to Virginia from Yorkshire in 1657.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Schlieren and Shadowgraph Techniques, April 19, 2002

By 

Leonard Weinstein (Hampton, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schlieren & Shadowgraph Techniques (Hardcover)

This book has a wonderfully detailed historical review of these important techniques. While numerous papers have been written on the subject, and numerous technical books have briefly discussed the material, this is the first comprehensive modern book on the subject. The book is very detailed and comprehensive and even gives possible future directions to the topic. Actual operating details are described, including methods for making simple systems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent written book, June 29, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Schlieren & Shadowgraph Techniques (Hardcover)

The book is comprehensive, well arranged, very informative and instructive to the topics. The first modern publication which records in detail all tried and tested methods, well illustrated by many photos and diagrams. The Historical Review with Robert Hooke's (1635-1703) very first serious observations of Schlieren, the Basic Concepts and the extensive descriptions of to-days Practical Applications, such as Large-Field and Focusing Schlieren Methods, or Outdor Schlieren and Shadowgraphy for Aircraft in Flight, are examples out of the wide spread Table of Contents. The book is recommendable equally for experts and beginners. Scientists, development- and production-engineers, as well as students will gain advantage from it. Instructions for making a "do it yourself" Schlierenequipment, are given. It concludes with an extensive Bibliography.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection on Qualitative Optical Tecniques, June 27, 2002

By 

Atul Srivastava (IIT Kanpur, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schlieren & Shadowgraph Techniques (Hardcover)

The book titled "Schlieren and Shadowgraph Techniques" nicely elaborates the optical techniques mainly Shadography and Schlieren as far as Qualitative applications of the same are concerned. The details given are quite helpful and self explanatory for the researchers of this field.
The book is full in all respects except the quantitative analysis of these two optical techniques. The author has given the priliminary steps of quantitative analysis but has not gone deep into them which is equally important as is qualitative analysis. For example, how to extract velocity feilds, concentration fields (in case of mass transfer problems) etc from schlieren and shadowgraph images are still not discussed in detail in the book, which should have been included to make it a complete source of information.
This is the major suggestion that I want to make so that in the further editions these aspects can be looked into.