Measurement of supersonic flow field using particle tracking velocimetry

An oblique shock wave in a supersonic flow field was measured and visualized using Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV). The beginning of the velocity drop at the shock wave was sharper than that detected by general Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The location of the shock wave in the obtained velocity vector was in good agreement with that in Schlieren images because PTV has the advantage of high spatial resolution. The statistical values of turbulence in the airstream were successfully estimated. Another advantage of PTV is low calculation load. Real-time PTV was developed in this study. The image capture and the tracking calculation were performed in real time and the obtained vector data were sent to another computer using a network socket. It is considered that the transdisciplinary approach between experiment and numerical simulation can be performed using velocity vectors which will be sent to a supercomputer in real time. It is conformed that the obtained vector data and the real-time PTV are capable of realizing a transdisciplinary measurement system in future.