Vortical flow analysis

Abstract

The minimization of errors due to random noise in statistical properties such as the mean and root mean square of a vorticity distribution is investigated. We map two-dimensional (2D) vorticity fields and present the distribution of vorticity with an intensity map. Then, we quantify the reliability of the visualization configuration using statistical properties of this distribution. To validate our methodology, we devise vortical flow fields based on the analytical Lamb–Oseen vortex. The reliability of the vorticity measurements from our results shows that the size of the flow vector sampling and random noise in the data affect the fidelity of the vorticity maps. Based on this analysis, we establish an optimised configuration that minimises the influence of noise on the computed vorticity histograms. The concept outlined in this study may be used to reduce the effects of noise in a vorticity calculation, and thereby improve the effectiveness of flow visualization.