Application of particle image velocimetry measurement techniques to study turbulence characteristics of oscillatory flows around parallel-plate structures in thermoacoustic devices

This paper describes the development of the experimental setup and measurement methodologies to study the physics of oscillatory flows in the vicinity of parallel-plate stacks by using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques. Parallel-plate configurations often appear as internal structures in thermoacoustic devices and are responsible for the hydrodynamic energy transfer processes. The flow around selected stack configurations is induced by a standing acoustic wave, whose amplitude can be varied. Depending on the direction of the flow within the acoustic cycle, relative to the stack, it can be treated as an entrance flow or a wake flow. The insight into the flow behaviour, its kinematics, dynamics and scales of turbulence, is obtained using the classical Reynolds decomposition to separate the instantaneous velocity fields into ensemble-averaged mean velocity fields and fluctuations in a set of predetermined phases within an oscillation cycle. The mean velocity field and the fluctuation intensity distributions are investigated over the acoustic oscillation cycle. The velocity fluctuation is further divided into large- and small-scale fluctuations by using fast Fourier transform (FFT) spatial filtering techniques.