Image Processing to quantify the Trajectory of a Visualized Air Jet

In a ventilated space, the incoming air jet and the resulting airflow pattern play key roles in the removal or supply of heat, moisture, and harmful gases from or to living organisms (man, animal and plant). In this research, an image processing method was developed to visualize and quantify the two-dimensional trajectory and the deflection angle of an air jet in a ventilated room. The twodimensional trajectory equation of an air jet describes the position of the air jet as a function of the distance from the air inlet. The deflection angle of an air jet from the initial path at the air inlet is used to distinguish easily between a falling, unstable or horizontal air jet and to quantify the air jet in one number. The deflection angle is determined with an average standard deviation of 10· 6°. The results of the image processing algorithm are in agreement with the criterion of the corrected Archimedes number.