We measure 3D flow fields

Traditional velocimetry captures a single plane of a flow. Tomographic high-speed particle image velocimetry gives a complete three-dimensional view of fluid motion: high-speed cameras, synchronized laser illumination and advanced reconstruction algorithms let us visualize and quantify velocity in all three dimensions with high accuracy and temporal resolution.

That ability to capture detailed flow structures in three dimensions opens a wide range of research opportunities, from turbulence and vortex dynamics to multiphase flows and fluid–structure interaction. It also gives simulations something to be validated against.

Our tomographic system, built by LaVision GmbH, uses four Phantom v2640 high-speed cameras with a Photonics Industries DMX532-100DH laser to capture flows at up to 40 kHz. We are using it to study the flow in pipes as well as around solid bodies moving in the flow. One early result: the measured flow field in a pipe area reduction, with the flow at 6 m/s on the narrow side, reconstructed with Shake-The-Box particle tracking.