Tilted PIV: A novel approach for estimating the turbulent kinetic energy in stirred tanks

Abstract

Particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) has established itself as an important methodology for estimating the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in complex flows of stirred tanks. However, there are still limitations in the investigation of three-dimensional flows mainly due to the complex and costly setup of PIV systems. We propose a novel approach for TKE estimation in a three-dimensional flow using PIV two-dimensional fields. In this approach, named Tilted PIV, the measurements were made by one camera located 45° from the light-sheet to register the combined displacement of the tracer particle in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. In addition, Tilted PIV performance was evaluated in two different flow patterns in a stirred tank using Stereo-PIV and Classic PIV measurements as reference. Tilted PIV proved to be an alternative approach for estimating TKE mainly when optical access is restricted, or noise control is needed.