Flow Visualization

Throughout history, flow visualization has been an important tool in fluid dynamics research. It has been used extensively in the fields of engineering, physics, medical science, meteorology, oceanography and sport aerodynamics, to name just a few. The importance of flow visualization led Professor F N M Brown (1971) of the University of Notre-Dame to comment, "...A man is not a dog to smell out each individual track, he is a man to see, and seeing, to analyze..." This statement encapsulates the importance of first visualizing the flow before proceeding with detailed measurement and mathematical modeling. In addition, there is a great deal of esthetic pleasure to be gained from seeing the results of flow visualization. This aspect of flow visualization reaches out to the general public: we are all familiar with the aspect of clouds in the sky, the trail of cigarette smoke, and the swirling patterns to be seen in rivers and seas. Unlike previous publications which concentrated mainly on the theoretical aspect of flow visualization, this book focuses on the techniques required to perform high quality flow visualization. It is aimed primarily at the practitioner of flow visualization studies. Obtaining good flow visualization results is, in many ways, more an art than a science, and experience plays a deciding role. Hence each chapter of this invaluable volume has been written by an expert in a particular technique.