In vitro Biofluid Mechanics - Biofluidmechanics: An Introduction to Fluid Mechanics Macrocirculation and Microcirculation - page 359

CHAPTER
14

In vit ro Biofluid Mech anics

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Discuss common experimental techniques that

are used for in vitro biofluid mechanics studies

4. Describe parallel plate and viscometry

techniques

2. Compare particle imaging velocimetry

techniques and the data that can be
obtained from these methods

5. Mathematically represent the flow field

within a parallel plate and a cone-and-plate
viscometer

3. Describe the equipment necessary to

conduct particle imaging velocimetry
measurements

14.1 PARTICLE IMAGING VELOCIMETRY

Particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) is a computer-based technique that tracks a sequence
of reflective particles through a flow chamber. In the most basic PIV technique, one camera
is used to obtain flow information about one cross section through the flow chamber.
However, it is more common to use more than one camera in order to collect multiple
views so that a complete three-dimensional velocity flow profile can be obtained. There
are multiple techniques that can fit into PIV, and we will discuss some of them here. The
most popular technique is particle tracking. In this technique, one or more cameras
are used to image a three-dimensional velocity profile that is projected onto a two-
dimensional plane. If only one camera is used, information about the distance from the
camera will be lost. However, by adding more cameras, this information can be obtained
through a cross-correlation of the data (also termed triangulation), and therefore, a full
three-dimensional image of the flow field can be generated. To obtain these images of
flow scenarios, it is preferred to fabricate an accurate (possibly scaled) model, which can
depict the geometry of the real flow conditions. Dynamic similarity is used to make sure