Study on the particle traceability in transonic and supersonic flows using molecular tagging velocimetry

Abstract Particle image velocimetry (PIV) has become a powerful tool for flow velocity measurements in wind tunnel testing. However, it is generally difficult to apply the PIV technique to supersonic flows because of unreliable particle traceability. In the present study, the PIV and MTV (molecular tagging velocimetry) techniques are applied to transonic and supersonic flows, in which a normal shock wave appears, to evaluate particle traceability. Based on this work, it is found that the PIV data largely deviate from the MTV data behind a normal shock wave for both flows. The drag coefficient is also estimated for a particle from the velocity data measured by the two techniques. Its value is then compared to the drag coefficient value calculated from an empirical formula for particle Mach numbers ranging between 0.1 and 0.9. Based on the results, it is found that the experimental data can be reproduced reasonably well by the formula for particle Reynolds numbers higher than ~1. However, the data associated with particle Reynolds numbers lower than ~1 deviate largely from the formula.Graphical abstract