Vortex-induced vibration measurements of seal whiskers using digital holography

A new technique is developed and shown capable of providing accurate measurements of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) at small scales. The motions of three different objects are able to be fully resolved using a combination of digital holography and compressive sensing. The smallest object has a representative diameter of 1.25 mm, and is that of a harbor seal whisker. This ability to accurately measure the vibrations of whiskers at the original scale opens the door to conducting detailed studies on how the whiskers may serve as specialized flow sensors. Preliminary results reported here align with those found using traditional VIV measurements on whisker models at larger scales.