Single-camera, three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry

This paper introduces single-camera, three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (SC3D-PTV), an image-based, single-camera technique for measuring 3-component, volumetric velocity fields in environments with limited optical access, in particular, optically accessible internal combustion engines. The optical components used for SC3D-PTV are similar to those used for two-camera stereoscopic-µPIV, but are adapted to project two simultaneous images onto a single image sensor. A novel PTV algorithm relying on the similarity of the particle images corresponding to a single, physical particle produces 3-component, volumetric velocity fields, rather than the 3-component, planar results obtained with stereoscopic PIV, and without the reconstruction of an instantaneous 3D particle field. The hardware and software used for SC3D-PTV are described, and experimental results are presented.