A 3D-3C Micro-PIV Method

The authors present an experimental method to construct a three-dimensional (3D) three-component (3C) velocity distribution with micron spatial resolution. The micron resolution particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) technique and the concept of continuity are used to estimate the out-of-plane component of velocity. The micro-PIV technique is used to resolve a number of 2D-2C (x,y,u,v) velocity-vector field layers spaced a known distance in the out-of-plane direction. The method requires some a priori knowledge such as a wall condition or plane of symmetry, and the method can be used to investigate steady or phase referenced flows. To demonstrate the capabilities of the method we determined the velocity distribution around an individual living human red blood cell adhered within a glass microchannel. The relatively small cell demonstrated the spatial resolution of the method. A number of velocity vector fields were resolved with the out-of-plane velocity estimated. A numerical simulation was constructed to show agreement with the experimental results. The spatial resolution of the experimental results where order 3 mum for the in-plane components and order 2 mum in the out-of-plane direction. The uncertainty of the out-of-plane velocity is calculated and estimated at each layer.