STATE-OF-THE-ART TOWING-TANK PIV AND LDA SYSTEMS
Palle Gjelstrup, Dantec Dynamics A/S, Denmark
In the last decades the demands for high quality experimental results about flow structures andquantitative flow measurements increased tremendously. These results are necessary, for example, tovalidate and verify codes and models used in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Depending onwhether turbulence models or Large Eddy Simulations need to be tested, the best-suited measurement
technique must be chosen. Nowadays, two laser-optical flow velocity measurement techniques arewidely used towing tanks: the highly accurate and highly time-resolved point technique Laser Doppler
Anemometry (LDA) and the whole field Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) with the ability to measureinstantaneous planar sections of the flow field with a moderate temporal resolution. Both LDA and PIV
can be configured to measure all three components of the velocity vector simultaneously. While LDA
has become a very mature technique, PIV is still rapidly evolving both in terms of the hardware used(cameras and lasers) and the software (algorithms used to determine velocities and graphical userinterface to make the handling of a PIV system as user friendly as possible). To be of practical use in
towing tank applications, the systems must have a low weight, a streamlined shape and be able toacquire e.g. propeller shaft angle or wave maker data. Rapid feedback about the quality of themeasurement is important, and acquisition, storage and analysis of data must be distributed overcomputer networks in order to shorten the post processing process.
Dantec Dynamics has more than 30 years of experience in designing laser based flow measurement
systems for towing tanks. The article describes experiences gained and solutions delivered to individual
applications.
1

Introduction

1.1 Laser based flow measurement techniques
Laser optical flow measurement techniques have been applied to towing tank applications for morethan three decades. The laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) principle was invented in 1964 andcommercial systems became available around 1970. In the early 1970’s the technique was applied tocavitation tunnels, and in the late 1970’s towing tank configurations with partly submerged optics
became available. The particular advantages of the technique were the ability to measure all threevelocity components even in highly turbulent flows and in flows with recirculation zones, hightemporal and spatial resolution and high accuracy.
The Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was originally based on making double image
exposures on photographic film of seeding particles in a flow. The “wet” photographic techniquerequired development of films and scanning them with a laser mounted on an x-y table in order toextract the velocity information. This was very time consuming and at best one or two flow fields could
me measured in a day. The result was a map of two-dimensional velocity vectors, but the sign of thevelocity component could not be resolved.
When CCD cameras emerged in the 1990’s it suddenly became possible to acquire about 10 images per
second, store them in a computer and process them to get the flow field data in a matter of seconds.
This was a major technological breakthrough, and digital PIV quickly became commercially available.

In the beginning planar maps of two velocity components could be measured, and the first commercial
towing tank PIV system was installed in 1997. In the late 1990s stereoscopic PIV systems capable ofmeasuring all three velocity components in a plane became available, and this technique was soon
applied to towing tanks, using submerged torpedo shaped housings with two cameras and light sheet
optics inside.
With PIV, a set of 1000 image pairs could be acquired in less than two minutes – matching a typicaltowing tank run quite well.
A new technological jump happened around year 2000 with the appearance of C-MOS cameras andhigh repetition rate pulsed lasers, making PIV measurements at rates of 1000 image pairs per second or
more possible. This technique is often referred to as Time Resolved PIV. In this context time resolvedmeans capable of resolving the large eddies in time.
There are two types of lasers suitable for this technique:
Nd:YAG lasers with pulse energies up to 100 mJ at 50 Hz or 50 mJ at 100 Hz
Nd:YLF lasers with pulse energies up to 30 mJ at 1000 Hz.
The Nd:YAG lasers have the advantage of high pulse energy making it possible to measure in areas up
to 30 x 30 cm.
The higher repetition rate of the Nd:YLF lasers is offset by the lower pulse energy, limiting thepossible measurement area.
Currently available C-MOS cameras are rather large, necessitating quite bulky submerged probes,
which is probably why this technology is not yet widespread.
To the author’s knowledge one towing tank PIV system with C-MOS cameras is in operation at
MARINTEK in Norway.
1.2 Strengths and weaknesses of the LDA and PIV techniques
The strengths of LDA systems are the high spatial resolution, typically 0.3 mm, and the high temporal
resolution (depending on seeding concentration and laser power) of up to several hundred samples per
second. The technique is therefore well suited for boundary layer measurements and for capturing
dynamic phenomena.
Acquisition takes place at one position at a time, and to obtain e.g. 1000 velocity samples typicallyrequires measurement times of 10 to 30 seconds. Hence, to map a flow field with LDA would require
many runs.
One of the strengths of PIV is that with a typical system with 10 Hz acquisition rate, the same statisticalinformation can be acquired in 100 seconds for a whole plane with typically 100 x 100 measurement
positions. Good statistics of a planar section of flow field can be recorded in a single run.
Table 1 Summary of PIV and LDA system capabilities. ++ denotes most suitable, + less suitable
FeatureFast acquisition of flow data
Velocity resolution
Temporal resolution
Spatial resolution
Measurement of spatial structures
Capturing dynamic phenomena
Measurement in boundary layers

PIV
++
+
+
+
++
+
+

LDA
+
++
++
++
+
++
++

2

Historical overview of towing tank LDA systems

2.1 Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt (HSVA) 3D LDA 1978
A submersible 3-velocity component LDA system was installed in 1978 at the HSVA. The technology
available at the time necessitated a rigid integrated opto-mechanical assembly including a water–cooled
Argon-Ion laser, beam directing mirrors, focussing optics, receiving optics and photomultipliers. The
whole assembly was mounted on a traversing mechanism in order to control the measurement position.
Due to the weight of the assembly the traverse had to be very heavy, too.
The signal processing solutions available at the time were based on counting and timing zero passagesof the Doppler signals, a method rather sensitive to signal noise.
The shape of the submerged part was not particularly streamlined yet the reported [1] flow disturbanceat the measurement position was around 1% with a repeatability of 3%.

Figure 1 HSVA towing tank LDA system, 1978.
2.2 MARIN, TU Berlin, Bassin d’Essais des Carènes (BEC) 3C LDA 1986-1988
In the 1980’s single-mode polarisation preserving optical fibres capable of carrying several Watts oflaser power became available.
This technology made it possible to separate the bulky, heavy laser from the submerged optical probe,
and relieved the demands for a stiff construction between the laser and the probe. An advantage of thiswas that the submerged probe could be have a much more streamlined shape.
In 1986 to 1988 similar LDA systems were installed at MARIN in Wageningen, Technical Universityof Berlin and at BEC in PARIS.
A single optical fibre carried the multi-wavelength laser beam to the underwater probe. The powertransmitted through the fibre was typically 1 or 2 Watts, which limited the lifetime of the fibre.
The probe still contained beam splitters, Bragg cells, focusing lenses and photomultipliers and had tohave a cross section of 15 x 15 cm and a length of 1.5 m. The measurement distance was about 80 cm.
With beam splitting, frequency shifting etc taking place in the submerged probe, the laser beams had totravel a long distance within the probe, and therefore the alignment was sensitive to the temperature of
the surrounding water.

Figure 2 Left: MARIN towing tank LDA measurement. Laser beams emerging from the probe locatedoutside the lower right corner of the image. Courtesy of MARIN.
Right: TU Berlin towing tank LDA optics. Left and right windows are for laser beams, centre window
for receiving optics.
In the late 1980’s, LDA signal processing technology made a major step forward with the arrival ofprocessors using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) techniques to determine the Doppler signal frequency
and hence the flow velocity. These processors, called Burst Spectrum Analysers (BSA), were much
more robust against signal noise, and capable of extracting the Doppler bursts from noise more
efficiently than the earlier counter processors.
3 State-of-the-art towing tank LDA systems
The next technological advance came when the beam splitting and frequency shifting was moved up to
the laser. The laser power was thus carried through six fibres instead of by one, extending the lifetimeof the fibres dramatically. With this concept the beams had to travel only from the exit of the fibre,
through a prism and to the front lens, a very short distance, making the alignment more stable and lesssensitive to the temperature of the surrounding water. In addition, the scattered light from the seeding
particles was sent to the photomultipliers through multi-mode optical fibres, so the photomultipliers
could be removed from the probe.
3.1 University of Rostock 3D LDA 1997
This meant less complex probes and smaller dimensions. It was therefore possible to design torpedo
shaped probes such as the one installed at the University of Rostock in 1997.

Figure 3 University of Rostock 3D LDA probe 1997
Windows from left to right: 4 emitted beams perpendicular to the probe, receiving optics and two
smaller windows for two laser beams.
The latest signal processing technology includes features such as on-line monitoring of the Doppler
signal, data rate and validation rate, integrated encoder pulse time stamping to relate the LDA velocity
data to the propeller angular position and software package with extensive graphical presentation
features.
Altogether, improved optomechanics combined with better signal processors meant shorter experimenttimes and better quality measurement results.
3.2 BEC 3D LDA 2002
The latest towing LDA solution was delivered to BEC in Val de Reuil, France, in 2002 and was basedon the same concepts as the Rostock probe, but with longer stand-off distance.

Figure 4 BEC 3C LDA optics, 2004. The rear part (at the right hand side of the picture) is attached tothe strut and allows for rotation of the probe. The left window issues four laser beams perpendicularly
to the probe axis, and the two small windows at the right issue two laser beams. The receiving optics isin the window in between.

Improvements included a calibration device making it possible to measure the calibration factors foreach measured velocity component, as well as the co-ordinate transformation matrix.
The references for the co-ordinate system were the traverse axes, which were carefully aligned to thetowing tank carriage.

Figure 5 Calibration set-up for velocity and co-ordinate transformation matrix. BEC 2004.
4

Historical overview of towing tank PIV systems

In the late 1990’s towing tank PIV systems became available, reducing the demand for towing tank
LDA systems. The first generation systems were capable of measuring two velocity components, either
at a fixed location in the tank, measuring as the model passed by, or towed and capable of measuring ina plane parallel to the towing direction. Later on, stereo PIV systems capable of measuring all threevelocity components in a plane perpendicular to the towing direction became available.
4.1 IIHR 2D PIV, 1997
The Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR) acquired a 2D towing tank PIV system in 1997. It
consisted of a strut with a built-in pulsed Nd:YAG laser of 25 mJ per pulse, the first compact, pulsed
Nd:YAG laser on the market. At the bottom of the strut the light sheet optics and a side arm with thecamera module at the end were mounted. The light sheet optics and the camera arm could be rotated tomeasure in horizontal or vertical planes or any intermediate orientation.
The system was capable of measuring in an area of 20 x 20 cm at a rate of 10 double images per
second. Due to the limited computing power of PCs at the time, a hard-wired data processor was used.
The state-of-the-art at the time was 2D PIV, measuring in planes parallel to the towing direction. Hencedata had to be taken in a number of planes, and the data had to be merged to create maps of the flow inplanes perpendicular to the towing direction.

Figure 6 The IIHR PIV system, 1997.
Left: The light sheet optics is at the top of the image, the camera module at the bottom.
Right: Schematic overview of the system.
4.2 HSVA 2D PIV 2002
An alternative approach was used at HSVA where submerged PIV optics was mounted in the tank,measuring as the model passed by.
An advanced configuration was used for studying wing tip vortices on an Airbus model: the camera
and light sheet were traversed downwards, tracking the vortex as it moved down.

Figure 7 The HSVA wing tip vortex experiment results. Courtesy of K. & C. Huenecke, Airbus.

Stereo PIV systems, capable of measuring all three velocity components simultaneously, becamecommercially available in 1998 and this technology was soon adapted to towing tank applications.
Various optical configurations have been implemented:
4.3 SIREHNA/MARIN 3D PIV 2005

Figure 8 SIREHNA/MARIN PIV system: schematic of the symmetrical configuration- cameras andmirror sections left and right, light sheet optics in the middle.
SIREHNA and MARIN jointly acquired a stereo PIV system in 2005. It could configured either with asingle probe with cameras arranged symmetrically around the light sheet, or with separate light sheetprobe and camera probe with asymmetrical camera configuration. With the separate light sheet andcamera probes it could also be configured with the light sheet parallel to the flow.

Figure 9 SIREHNA/MARIN PIV system 2005.
Left: symmetrical configuration with single probe..
Right: asymmetrical configuration with separate light sheet and camera probes.
Courtesy of MARIN and SIREHNA.

4.4 IIHR 3D PIV 2004
The IIHR replaced their 2D PIV by a stereo PIV system in 2004. The configuration was quite different
to other systems, with vertical camera probes and separate light sheet probe.

Figure 10 The IIHR 3D PIV system. The camera probes are seen at the bottom of the picture, the lightsheet probe under the ship model. (from www.iihr.uiowa.edu)
This solution offers good accuracy due to a 35 degree angle between the cameras, and some flexibility
in the orientation of the light sheet but with three vertical cylinders containing the cameras and lightsheet optics, and a mechanical grid structure connecting the camera modules, it disturbs the flow morethan the “torpedo” configurations.
5 State-of-the-art PIV systems
As the technology matures, the requirement shifts from “research type” solutions with many
adjustments, requiring time consuming set-up and alignment by highly skilled staff, to “productiontype” solutions with focus on short set-up time, ease of use, accurate results and efficient use of thetank time. The sections below describe some of the solutions to these requirements.
With today’s technology, powerful yet compact lasers and compact, high resolution and highly
sensitive cameras are available. This allows for solutions with integrated dual camera and light sheetprobe, with the light sheet in the middle and cameras symmetrically around it, or asymmetricalconfigurations with the both cameras downstream of the light sheet. A system with a 2 x 120 mJ laser
and two 4 MPixel CCD cameras has recently been installed at MARIN. Some of the features of thissystem are described below.

Figure 11 MARIN PIV system 2009.
Left: asymmetrical configuration
Right: symmetrical configuration
5.1 Short set-up time
The system can be aligned in a parking position over a small water tank, thus not blocking the towing
tank. Focus, aperture and Scheimpflug angles are remote controlled, so the operator can optimise theimage quality from the PC.
A pre-alignment can be done in the small tank.
It can be mounted and calibrated on the towing tank carriage within a few hours.
5.2 Efficient use of tank time
The pre-aligned system is mounted on the towing carriage and cables are connected to the laser power
supply and PC.
Plug-an-play functionality shows which devices are connected to the PC.
A cabling wizard guides the user through the connections of the hardware.
Timing diagrams show the relationship between laser pulses, Q-switch and camera frames.

Figure 12 Timing diagram
After the calibration, described below, on-line display of acquired images and derived results areavailable.
During an experiment it is important to quickly assess whether the data quality is satisfactory. The user
can call an on-line correlation function showing the cross-correlation function of a selectedinterrogation area, and move it around to check the image and seeding quality anywhere in the image.
This helps the user to set the best laser pulse energy level, focus and aperture settings and seeding
concentration.

Figure 13 A PIV image and the correlation function for the selected interrogation area

5.3 Accurate results by calibration refinement
Calibration in the tank is crucial to high measurement accuracy. A good calibration requires that thecalibration target is aligned well to the tank axes, and that the light sheet is well aligned with the target.
A well defined mounting interface for a calibration target saves valuable tank time because the target
can be positioned correctly relative to the tank in a few minutes. Focus and Scheimpflug angles arethen fine adjusted by looking at images of the calibration target. Calibration images are acquired, and acalibration function is found. The target is removed, images of seeding particles are acquired and acalibration refinement is done. The calibration Refinement improves the accuracy of an existing stereo
calibration by using particle images acquired simultaneously from both cameras. Each of the original
Imaging Model Fits (IMF's) refer to a coordinate system defined by the calibration target used. Whenusing the imaging models for later analyses, it is generally assumed that the X/Y-plane where Z=0
corresponds to the centre of the light sheet, but in practice this assumption may not hold since it can bevery difficult to properly align the calibration target with the light sheet. Provided the calibration target
was reasonably aligned with the light sheet it is however possible to adjust the imaging model fits byanalysing a series of particle images acquired simultaneously by each of the two cameras. Thisadjustment is referred to as Calibration Refinement and changes the coordinate system used so Z=0
does indeed correspond to the centre of the light sheet as assumed by subsequent analyses using thecamera calibrations (IMF's).

Figure 14 Example of calibration refinement.
Two grids are seen: the original one aligning with the calibration target markers, and the refined one
showing where the markers should have been, had the target been perfectly aligned with the light sheet
With today’s PIV systems, handling huge amounts of data has become a challenge requiring special
attention.

The 4 MegaPixel cameras can acquire double images at rates of 7.5 Hz. With each pixel having 12 bit
depth, it generates 1,5 bytes of data. A stereo PIV system with two such cameras thus generates 2 x
1,5e6 x 7,5 x 2 bytes= 45 MB of data per second. A typical towing tank run of 3 minutes thus produces
8.1 GB of data.
To avoid bottlenecks in the acquisition phase, a distributed architecture is used, with each camera
connected to its own PC, and data being streamed to either large RAM or RAID disks. A distributed
database is used to avoid moving data.
Another advantage of the distributed architecture is that it speeds the post processing up dramatically.
6

Future towing tank PIV systems

Tremendous improvements of the PIV technique have taken place over the last decade, with ever more
powerful lasers and better cameras.
Recent advances in non-submerged PIV systems may soon find their way into towing tank PIV
systems:• Time resolved PIV systems capable of thousands of images per second.
• Volumetric PIV systems measuring not only in a planar section of the flow, but in a volume.
Both of these require new post-processing methods in order to extract the essential information fromthe vast amounts of data generated.
Steps in this direction are:Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD)
Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD), used to derive spatial modes of the flow field.
In the example below [2], structures in a rotating flow are invisible from snapshots of the flow or evenfrom snapshot minus the mean flow field, but stand out clearly when doing POD analysis.

instantaneous snapshot

POD mode 1

snapshot minus mean

POD mode 2

Figure 15 Spatial mode analysis of a rotating flow using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition.
7 References[1] Lammers et al.: Applicability of Laser Doppler Velocimetry to Marine Engineering Research. ,ITTC 1987, p 412 ff[2]: Meyer et al.: Frequency and flow structure detection in a cylindrical cavity using POD, 14th
International Symposium on Applications of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal,
July 2008