Time-resolved velocity profile measurement using event-based imaging

Abstract

We describe the implementation of time-resolved velocity profile measurement using event-based vision (EBV) employing an event-camera in-place of a high-speed camera. A narrow light sheet provided by a pulsed laser is imaged by a narrow region of interest on the event camera sensor which allows the capture of a dense particle field. Subsequent multi-frame processing is employed in an off-line manner to retrieve time-resolved velocity profiles from which statistics and spectra can be obtained. The described system is capable of providing data quality on par with currently used, considerably more expensive, high-speed PIV hardware at equivalent frame rate of 10 kHz. The technique is demonstrated with measurements of a fully developed turbulent boundary layer in a wind tunnel at free-stream speeds up to 10 m/s. The data is directly compared to high-speed profile-PIV measurements obtained on the same facility at matching operating and regions of interest.