Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) diagnostic based on the optical excitation of fluorescence tracers has become a key tool for the experimental study of fluid dynamics in reactive flows. A spectroscopic fluorescence study of several organic molecules from aliphatic ketones and mono- and bi-cyclic aromatics in gas-phase was performed in a high-pressure high temperature optical cell. The experimental measurements allowed the understanding of the influence of temperature, pressure and oxygen concentration on the photophysics of these molecules in the UV/visible domain. These results were then used to successfully develop a model of fluorescence yield of the naphthalene and toluene aromatic molecules permitting the simulation of the fluorescence signals with temperature, pressure and species composition in large domains of temperature and pressure.This study has been extended to the case of a multi-component aeronautical fuel (kerosene – jet A1) containing natural aromatics. The comparison of the spectroscopic data recorded in the optical cell to those of the aromatic tracers initially probed has then permitted the definition of a kerosene-PLIF excitation/detection strategy for kerosene vapour concentration measurements in reactive gaseous flowfield containing variable oxygen concentration. Fluorescence signals from mono- and di-aromatic species in kerosene highlight significant differences in evolution with temperature and oxygen concentration. With appropriate optical filters applied to two ICCD cameras, the two-dimensional instantaneous distribution of temperature and concentration of kerosene vapour is then possible to measure in reactive flows. Finally, the kerosene-PLIF diagnostic has been applied at the exit of an innovative multi-point aeronautical injection system integrated to high-pressure kerosene/air combustor test rig. The kerosene-PLIF, combined with the radical OH-PLIF confirmed their implementation in realistic high-pressure flowfields and delivered experimental fruitful experimental information on the effect of the fuel/air mixing on the flame structure in the combustion chamber.
