Turbulence velocimetry of density fluctuation imaging data

Analysis techniques to measure the time-resolved flow field of turbulence are developed and applied to images of density fluctuations obtained with the beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic system on the DIII-D tokamak. Velocimetry applications include measurement of turbulent particle flux, zonal flows, and the Reynolds stress. The flow field of turbulent eddies exhibits quasisteady poloidal flows as well as high-frequency radial and poloidal motion associated with electrostatic potential fluctuations and strongly nonlinear multifield interactions. The orthogonal dynamic programming technique, developed for fluid-based particle and amorphous shape (smoke) flow analysis, is investigated to measure such turbulence flows. Sensitivity and accuracy are assessed and sample results discussed. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.