STEREOSCOPIC PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY

The three components of the velocity field in a plane can be measured simultaneously by combining particle image velocimetry (PIV) and stereoscopy. A set-up has been devised to take two stereoscopic images of the flow simultaneously with only one camera, thus making automatic recording of three-dimensional (3D) velocity fields quite straightforward. Theoretical and practical considerations in implementing this stereoscopic PIV system are presented. The performance of the technique has been investigated by measuring several known displacements produced on a solid surface, and the application of the system to the measurement of the 3D velocity field in an acoustic streaming flow is presented.