Data validation, false vectors correction and derived magnitudes calculation on PIV data

Due to the particular features that appear in the vector maps delivered by the PIV method, there are postprocessing steps that can substantially enhance its performance. These steps include: detection of false vectors, correction of these vectors and the calculation of derived flow magnitudes. Many derived magnitudes can be of interest but this work focuses on the calculation of the first spatial derivative, component of flow divergence or vorticity, on a two-dimensional flow configuration. New algorithms, developed for each step, are described, with the aim of jointly applying them in a coherent way. Where applicable, an analytical tool for filter analysis and design is explained. Application to synthetic and real PIV data is presented as well as a performance contrast with other conventional algorithms, in terms of accuracy, frequency response and error propagation, among others.