Particle Image Velocimetry

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

The Particle Image Velocimetry

is an optical non-invasive working flow velocity measurement method. The flow field is made visible by introducing into the fluid small buoyancy neutral particles – the so called tracers. The particle flow then is illuminated with the aid of a light sheet and recorded at two defined different times within a small time interval with a digital camera. Because the particle move within this time interval with the flow, one can calculate the particles velocity by knowing its path between the two moments of illumination. The result is a velocity vector field of the flow. Here, we assume that the particles are small and follow the flow without any slip.

Compared to local methods like Laser-Doppler-Velocimetry (LDV) with the Particle-Image-Velocimetry one can reconstruct a whole flow region.

An extension of Particle-Image-Velocimetry is the combination of PIV with thermometry (PIV/T). The principle is based on the application of temperature sensitive particles consisting of liquid crystal material, which change colour in dependence of their temperature. This method allows the simultaneous measurement of the flow velocity and temperature field and can be applied to the investigation of thermal convection in liquids, for example.

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