Vortex detection criteria assessment for PIV data in rotorcraft applications

The aim of the article is to propose a simple engineering method for identifying and characterizing vortical structures within a flow field measured with a classic two-component PIV measurement system. Some of the most popular vortex detection systems are briefly presented. Of these, many fail if spurious vectors are present within the flow field due to poor PIV image quality or due to particle voids in the vortex core. The chosen method is the Gamma(2)-criterion. The investigated method is robust and reliable, because it is based on the velocity field topology without using velocity derivatives sensitive to the spurious vectors. The method is tested on synthetic velocity fields of ideal vortices and on real PIV velocity field of a four-bladed rotor wake. The synthetic velocity fields reproduce single and multiple vortices to investigate the mutual interaction and the effect on the vortex detection criteria. The synthetic velocity fields have different spatial resolution, noise level, and different particle void to perform a parametric assessment. Other vortex identification schemes are applied for comparison. Information on how to use the criterion for different noise conditions, particle void, and presence of multiple vortices is provided.