Paper detail

Simultaneous PIV and LIF measurements in stratified flows using pulsed lasers

We examine the problem of performing simultaneous and coplanar Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) measurements in a stratified fluid initially at rest. Our focus is on enabling detailed velocity and density measurements in long internal waves and gravity currents, through relatively small modifications of typical existing PIV systems comprising pulsed lasers, using dye concentration as a proxy for fluid density. Several issues have limited such measurements. These include: (1) variations in the laser intensity and beam structure between laser pulses; (2) PIV particles concentrating preferentially at their neutral buoyancy depth, thereby yielding nonuniform dye illumination; and (3) the need to maintain a constant index of refraction across large stratified fluid volumes. Here we focus on an experimental setup comprising a stratified layer overlaying a deep homogeneous region. We produce long internal waves using a lock-release setup, in order to investigate the structure of waves comprising recirculating fluid regions (known as ``trapped cores''), which are of current interest in oceanographic applications. We maintain a short optical path and use velocity information from PIV data to minimize index-of-refraction issues. We exploit the fact that the system is initially at rest to devise a mapping that links apparent and actual dye concentration, thus sidestepping nonuniform illumination issues due to particle clustering. Finally, we devise a procedure to correct for laser power variations along each ray in the sheet.