Particle Tracking Velocimetry

Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is one of the latest and most powerful flow visualization techniques, using numerous cameras to track flow tracers in two or three dimensions. This book provides a review of both experimental and computational aspects of PTV for academic and industrial researchers and engineers.

Particle velocimetry is a non-intrusive optical measurement method whereby global velocity fields can be obtained in either two- or three-dimensions through time by inferring fluid motion through the displacement of particle tracers which seed the flow. While particle image velocimetry (PIV), which obtains each velocity vector by tracking groups of particles within an interrogation window through a cross-correlation algorithm, has thrived generously since its development, particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), which obtains each of the velocity vector by tracking individual particle, has received less attention. The goal of this book is to therefore provide a review of PTV, with a focus on methods and techniques that have been implemented towards its development and improvement, rather than on its applications.

The contents of this volume reflect to a large extent the efforts made by a group of Institutes at the ETH Zürich to develop new techniques for measurements of flows in fluids in the last decade. The motivation came from the study of tr~sport and mixing processes in natural and industrial systems. One of the characteristic properties of turbulence is its high mixing efficiency. The techniques developed are therefore suitable, although not exclusively, for turbulence measurements. They can be subdivided into point-measurements and field-measurements. The aim of the point-measurements developed is to determine the three components of the velocity and all their first derivatives with good temporal resolution and accuracy in turbulent flows. The old and weIl established method of hot-wire anemometry was used for this purpose. One of the main achievements in this context is the construction of miniature multi-wire probes. This technique was introduced to the Institute of Hydromechanics and Water Resources Management of ETH Zürich by Profs. A. Tsinober and E. Kit from Tel-Aviv University. This was made possible by the generous financial support by ETH, for which I would like to express my gratitude on this occasion. In addition, Dr. F.E. Joergensen from DANTEC contributed an example of recent developments in the hardware ofConstant Temperature Anemometry (CTA), for which I am very thankful.

This immensely practical guide to PIV provides a condensed, yet exhaustive guide to most of the information needed for experiments employing the technique. This second edition has updated chapters on the principles and extra information on microscopic, high-speed and three component measurements as well as a description of advanced evaluation techniques. What’s more, the huge increase in the range of possible applications has been taken into account as the chapter describing these applications of the PIV technique has been expanded.

This open access book, published in the Soft and Biological Matter series, presents an introduction to selected research topics in the broad field of flowing matter, including the dynamics of fluids with a complex internal structure -from nematic fluids to soft glasses- as well as active matter and turbulent phenomena. Flowing matter is a subject at the crossroads between physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, biology and earth sciences, and relies on a multidisciplinary approach to describe the emergence of the macroscopic behaviours in a system from the coordinated dynamics of its microscopic constituents. Depending on the microscopic interactions, an assembly of molecules or of mesoscopic particles can flow like a simple Newtonian fluid, deform elastically like a solid or behave in a complex manner. When the internal constituents are active, as for biological entities, one generally observes complex large-scale collective motions. Phenomenology is further complicated by the invariable tendency of fluids to display chaos at the large scales or when stirred strongly enough. This volume presents several research topics that address these phenomena encompassing the traditional micro-, meso-, and macro-scales descriptions, and contributes to our understanding of the fundamentals of flowing matter. This book is the legacy of the COST Action MP1305 “Flowing Matter”.

Particle image velocimetry, or PIV, refers to a class of methods used in experimental fluid mechanics to determine instantaneous fields of the vector velocity by measuring the displacements of numerous fine particles that accurately follow the motion of the fluid. Although the concept of measuring particle displacements is simple in essence, the factors that need to be addressed to design and implement PIV systems that achieve reliable, accurate, and fast measurements and to interpret the results are surprisingly numerous. The aim of this book is to analyze and explain them comprehensively.

This immensely practical guide to PIV provides a condensed, yet exhaustive guide to most of the information needed for experiments employing the technique. This second edition has updated chapters on the principles and extra information on microscopic, high-speed and three component measurements as well as a description of advanced evaluation techniques. What’s more, the huge increase in the range of possible applications has been taken into account as the chapter describing these applications of the PIV technique has been expanded.