Coherent Fourier Imaging Optical System for Liquid Bridge Experiments

An imaging optical system has been developed in order to undertake an experimental investigation of the importance of contact line and angle dynamics on the characteristics of dynamic liquid bridges. Liquid bridges, or captive drops, are fluid structures that occupy part of the gap between two or more solid supports. Experiments are performed in a neutral buoyancy tank. The optical system is a coherent high-magnification system which uses a high-pass spatial frequency filter to pass only the edges of the liquid bridge silhouette. System hardware design and realization, with special emphasis on alignment methods and aberrations present, will be shown. Sample experimental results will be shown as well. Potential methods for vibration mode recognition will be discussed.