A Software Tool For Automated Analysis And Characterization Of Raw PIV Images

Abstract

The time to process large PIV data sets can be expensive and the resultant velocity fields are a strong function of the quality of the particle images used. For new and even experienced users of PIV, determination of the quality of a particle image data set can be challenging and time consuming especially for a large number of data sets. This is compounded with new high-speed camera systems that are capable of collecting terabytes of data quickly. A software tool is described here that allows the user to make informed decisions on the general quality of the data sets and what pre-processing image data steps are needed. The software provides statistical feedback on such parameters as particle count, particle size, particle intensity for not only a single image but also a complete data set. Using this software allows the user to make informed decisions and generate and document the quality of the data collected. Based on this, a robust PIV processing algorithm can be developed.