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Two and three component velocity measurements in a wind tunnel using PIV

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

P. W. Bearman ,
J. K. Harvey  and
J. N. Stewart
P. W. Bearman
Affiliation:
Department of AeronauticsImperial College of Science, Technology and MedicineLondon, UK
J. K. Harvey
Affiliation:
Department of AeronauticsImperial College of Science, Technology and MedicineLondon, UK
J. N. Stewart
Affiliation:
Department of AeronauticsImperial College of Science, Technology and MedicineLondon, UK
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Abstract

This paper describes the development of particle image velocimetry (PIV) to measure instantaneous spatial distributions of velocity in flows generated around models in a low speed wind tunnel with a test section 3m wide by 1·5m high. The difficulties associated with using PIV in air at this scale, and how they can be overcome, are discussed. Stereoscopic PIV is used to correct errors due to parallax that are present in velocity components measured in the plane of a light sheet when there is an accompanying flow through the sheet. This technique is also used to measure all three components of velocity in planes across a flow. It is found that apparently good estimates of a mean flow field can be obtained by averaging as few as ten instantaneous measurements of the flow field. The flows studied are generated by a 1/8 scale model of an aircraft for which the wing sweep can be varied. Measurements of velocities associated with the main vortex structures generated over the wing are presented for a sweep angle of 70°. Measurements of velocities recorded in the wake of a large fuel tank mounted below the wing, for a wing sweep of 45°, are also shown.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 103 , Issue 1021 , March 1999 , pp. 167 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1999 

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