An evaluation of optical flow algorithms for background oriented schlieren imaging

Bradley Atcheson*, Wolfgang Heidrich, Ivo Ihrke

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

172 Scopus citations

Abstract

The background oriented schlieren method (BOS) allows for accurate flow measurements with a simple experimental configuration. To estimate per-pixel displacement vectors between two images, BOS systems traditionally borrow window-based algorithms from particle image velocimetry. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of more recent optical flow methods in BOS settings. We also analyze the impact of different background patterns, suggesting the use of a pattern with detail at many scales. Experiments with both synthetic and real datasets show that the performance of BOS systems can be significantly improved through a combination of optical flow algorithms and multiscale background.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)467-476
Number of pages10
JournalExperiments in Fluids
Volume46
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computational Mechanics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

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