Multiscale regularization based on turbulent kinetic energy decay for PIV estimations with high spatial resolution

We propose a new multiscale PIV method based on turbulent kinetic energy decay. The technique is based on scaling power laws describing the statistical structure of turbulence. A spatial regularization constraints the solution to behave through scales as a self similar process via second-order structure function and a given power law. The real parameters of the power-law, corresponding to the distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy decay, are estimated from a simple hot-wire measurement. The method is assessed in a turbulent wake flow and grid turbulence through comparisons with HWA measurements and other PIV approaches. Results indicate that the present method is superior because it accounts for the whole dynamic range involved in the flows.