Interpretation of PIV autocorrelation mesurements in complex particle-laden flows

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure instantaneous and average particle velocity fields near the stagnation zone of a particle-laden impinging air jet. The results were compared with Lagrangian particle tracking measurements. Ensemble averages from the two methods agree well except in regions where particles have different histories, and a specific trajectory is dominant but not exclusive. The PIV autocorrelation method loses information regarding non-dominant particle trajectories. Thus, although instantaneous PIV measurements yield the dominant particle velocities correctly, the averaged measurements are biased in some regions.