MRI: Acquisition of a Volumetric PIV System to Study Flow Physics of Vortex Dominated Flows

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ABSTRACT: KhanParticle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has greatly improved flow field diagnostics by providing a snap shot of a section of the flow field rather than a point by point measurement. Enhancement from a 2-component PIV to the measurement of 3-components taking advantage of the finite thickness of the laser sheet has provided additional understanding of complex flow field. However, this enhancement still does not result in a true 3-dimensional understanding of the flow field as this requires several cross-sectional slices of the flow to build a composite picture. The more recent availability of Volumetric PIV system provides the ability to conduct instantaneous flow field measurements of volumetric region of flow thereby resulting in true 3-dimensional flow characteristics. It is intended to acquire a volumetric PIV system to conduct flow field measurements of vortex-dominated flows to better understand the flow physics. Measurements using volumetric PIV will provide useful information on the morphology of the embedded regions of vorticity and its diffusion into the flow field.Tuskegee University is one of the premier HBCUs and has been ranked as the #1 Baccalaureate College by the Washington Monthly. The Aerospace Science Engineering Department is the only ABET-accredited program at an HBCU and hence has a major impact on increasing the number of under-represented minorities in this important engineering field. The Department had acquired a 2D PIV system in 2004 under the NSF MRI grant. This facility was used to conduct both undergraduate and graduate research resulting in two MS theses as well as several undergraduate student presentations at the AIAA Student conferences. The Department is currently developing a bio-fluid dynamics sequence in collaboration with the Biology Department under the NSF HBCU-UP program where the facility is being integrated as part of the laboratory experiences. The acquisition of the volumetric PIV system will therefore be used for disciplinary as well as inter-disciplinary research (Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Chemical Engineering, Biology). The enhancement of the flow diagnostic capability as result of this acquisition will substantially strengthen the experimental research infrastructure of the Aerospace Science Engineering Department. There are several projects that the students are currently working on using a 3-component PIV system to understand the three dimensionality of the flow fields. The facility will be an important addition to the Departmental infrastructure and support its plans to develop a graduate program. This diagnostic facility will enhance the learning experiences of undergraduate students who will be involved in undergraduate research. The facility will also be used as part of the aerodynamics and instrumentation courses. The facility will also be used to demonstrate the use of such techniques to K-12 students who are on campus for various summer enrichment programs such as the Minorities in Technology and Engineering (MITE), and NSF funded programs under MSP and ITEST.