Measurement of flow fields with Particle Image Velocimetry

Particle imagevelocimetry (PIV) is increasingly used for aerodynaimc research and development. The PIV technique allows the recording of a complete flow velocity field in a plane of the flow within a few microseconds. Thus, it provides information about unsteady flow fields, wich is difficult to obtain with other experimental techniques. The short acquisition time and fast availability of data reduce the operational time, and hence cost, in large scale test facilities. Technical progress made in the last year allowed DLR to develop a reliable, modular PIV system for use in industrial wind tunnels. The feature of this system are summarized and results of recent PIV applications are presented.