Particle Image Velocimetry: Fundamentals and Its Applications

Report, 2011

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is the newest entrant to the field of fluid flow measurement and provides instantaneous velocity fields over global domains. As the name suggests, PIV records the position over time of small tracer particles introduced into the flow to extract the local fluid velocity. Thus, PIV represents a quantitative extension of the qualitative flow visualization techniques that have been practised for several decades. This paper gives a brief background on evolution of PIV and then its principle of operation, main features and basic elements are explaind. Errors in PIV occurring while measurements are discussed and, the state-of-the-art of the technique today is overviewed and illustrated by reference to recent, seminal publications describing both the development and application of PIV.