OpenPIV-Matlab -- An open-source software for particle image velocimetry; test case: birds' aerodynamics

TL;DR

OpenPIV-Matlab is an open-source MATLAB package that provides comprehensive tools for analyzing particle image velocimetry data, including flow visualization, wake analysis, and force estimation, demonstrated on bird flight data.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new open-source MATLAB toolkit for PIV data analysis with integrated force estimation, enhancing existing methods with post-processing capabilities.

Findings

Successful analysis of bird wake flow in wind tunnel

Accurate estimation of aerodynamic forces from PIV data

Demonstration of comprehensive post-processing tools

Abstract

We present an open-source MATLAB package, entitled OpenPIV-Matlab, for analyzing particle image velocimetry (PIV) data. We extend the PIV analysis with additional tools for post-processing the PIV results including the estimation of aero/hydrodynamic forces from the PIV data of a wake behind an immersed (bluff or streamlined) body. The paper presents a detailed description of the packages, covering the three main parts: generating two-dimensional two component velocity fields from pairs of images (OpenPIV-Matlab), spatial and temporal flow analysis based on the velocity fields (Spatial and Temporal Analysis Toolbox), and wake flow analysis along with the force estimates (getWAKE Toolbox). A complete analysis with a variety of post-processing capabilities is demonstrated using time-resolved PIV wake data of a freely flying European starling (\emph{Sturnus vulgaris}) in a wind tunnel.