A novel visualization technique for measuring liquid diffusion coefficient based on asymmetric liquid-core cylindrical lens

A visualization and quantification optical method for measuring binary liquid diffusion coefficient (D) based on an asymmetric liquid-core cylindrical lens (ALCL) is introduced in this paper. Four groups of control experiments were performed to verify the influences of diffusing substance category, concentration and temperature on diffusion process, and the measured D values were well consistent with data measured by Holographic interferometry and Taylor dispersion methods. The drifting of the diffusion image recorded by CCD reflects the diffusion rate visually in an easily understandable way. This optical method for measuring D values based on the ALCL is characterized by visual measurement, simplified device, and easy operation, which provides a new way for measuring liquid D value visually.