MRI: Acquisition of Laser Flow Measurement Instrumentation for Fluid Mechanics Research

Lafayette College, Easton PA

Investigators

Abstract

1040236 Sabatino A new recently commercialized experimental technique measures time-resolved three-dimensional fluid-flow velocity fields. This revolutionary technology provides unprecedented access to the details of the physics of turbulent flows. The new instrumentation will be utilized both in an existing laboratory at Lafayette College that investigates flow through blood vessels as well as in a new water channel facility that is being constructed for the investigation of coherent structures in turbulent boundary layers. This request will upgrade an existing two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) system that was purchased with NSF support in 2006 (MRI award CTS-0618923) to add the capability for fully three dimensional velocity field measurements by means of a tomographic reconstruction technique. To complement the relatively low sampling frequency of the PIV, a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system is included in the request. The LDV system records high frequency point-wise data which can provide accurate turbulent statistics that are required to properly scale and quantify the turbulent flows, as well as obtain velocity energy spectra which cannot be established with the PIV. Designed to be able to record simultaneously with the PIV system, the LDV will also provide critical validation measurements for the emerging 3-D PIV technique. This requested instrumentation will extend the research concentrations of the investigators and expand the research training and research opportunities available to undergraduate students at Lafayette College.