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The measurement of square channel velocity profiles using a microcomputer-based image analysis system

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Abstract

A technique was developed to perform automated velocity measurements from a sequence of particle images. A very thin sheet of laser light allows determination of essentially two-dimensional velocity profiles in very small conduits. A four image sequence was captured by a microcomputer-based frame grabber. After thresholding to eliminate particles not perfectly centered in the sheet of light, the sequence of pseudo-colored images of a given particle is used to determine its velocity. By measuring several two-dimensional velocity profiles across a square channel, the complete three-dimensional velocity profile was assembled. The experimentally measured velocity profile agrees closely with the known theoretical velocity profile for flow in a square channel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Dept., The University of Tulsa, 74104-3189, Tulsa, OK, USA

    C. E. Camp, W. B. Kolb, K. L. Sublette & R. L. Cerro

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  1. C. E. Camp
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  2. W. B. Kolb
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  3. K. L. Sublette
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  4. R. L. Cerro
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Camp, C.E., Kolb, W.B., Sublette, K.L. et al. The measurement of square channel velocity profiles using a microcomputer-based image analysis system. Experiments in Fluids 10, 87–92 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215015

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215015

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