Three-dimensional Voronoï imaging methods for the measurement of near-wall particulate flows

Abstract

A set of stereoscopic imaging techniques is proposed for the measurement of rapidly flowing dispersions of opaque particles observed near a transparent wall. The methods exploit projective geometry and the Voronoï diagram. They rely on purely geometrical principles to reconstruct 3D particle positions, concentrations, and velocities. The methods are able to handle position and motion ambiguities, as well as particle-occlusion effects, difficulties that are common in the case of dense dispersions of many identical particles. Fluidization cell experiments allow validation of the concentration estimates. A mature debris-flow experimental run is then chosen to test the particle-tracking algorithm. The Voronoï stereo methods are found to perform well in both cases, and to present significant advantages over monocular imaging measurements.