Instantaneous concentration and velocity measurements through laser visualization associated with a digital processing system

The domain of application of image processing in fluid mechanics is so wide that no theoretical limits are imagined. However, the quality of the primitive image is very important, so the visualization technique has to be performed with care. Massive use of digital image processing probably entrains a fairly different way of describing turbulent flows. Multivariable statistics adapted to thse flows will certainly be developed. Methods for describing three dimensional instantaneous velocity and concentration fields by holographic or other methods are studied. In all the cases, however, a great amount of data has to be handled. Samples of 1000 images are probably necessary for high order statistics, more definition is needed for quite a wide range of problems. So the real limits of these kind of methods are linked to the image processing performances and cost.