Particle image velocimetry in viscoelastic fluids and particle interaction effects

Abstract

Two main assumptions in laser doppler velocimetry and particle image velocimetry (PIV) are that tracer particles are following the flow faithfully and that they are not interacting hydrodynamically or affecting the flow field. It has been shown, however, that particles in polymeric fluids even in low volumetric concentrations (ϕ < 1 % v/v) can interact profoundly because of the viscoelastic nature of the background fluid, leading even to particle chain or string formation. The objective of this study is to determine how these interactions can affect the flow conclusions drawn from PIV measurements. We chose a highly viscoelastic and shear thinning fluid and confirmed that particle string formation does occur rapidly in a simple shear flow of this fluid. Then, we measured via PIV, the fully developed velocity profile in the mid-plane of a square channel over a wide range of particle loadings 0.005–0.2 % v/v. The measurements confirm that despite the chaining process, there is no discernible effect of particle interaction on PIV velocity measurements.