Statistical investigation of errors in particle image velocimetry

The accuracy of the particle image velocimetry technique was investigated using synthetic images having known characteristics. Algorithms were developed to extract two-dimensional velocity information by tracking particles between successive frames of a movie automatically without operator assistance. This allowed to parametrically investigate the influence of the various parameters (image contrast, image noise, particle density, distribution of sizes of particles and particle displacement between frames) on the accuracy of the technique. It was found that as long as the images have a good contrast, particle locations can be determined with sub-pixel accuracy and particle velocities can be determined within a few percent.