Flow Visualization of Pipe Flows Obtained by MR Imaginary

In this study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a noninvasive medical diagnostic imaging technique, was evaluated as a noncontact measurement method for fluid machinery. In this report, various simple flow fields are investigated, and a labeled water mass is tracked and visualized in two-dimensional images by the time–spatial labeling inversion pulse (time-SLIP) method. In this article, steady and pulsating pipe flows in a straight tube and in abruptly contracting and expanding channels were tested and compared with particle image velocimetry measurements or numerical simulations to evaluate their validity. In addition, as feasibility test, a rotating water turbine and a fluidic diode with a strong swirling flow were tested to estimate this method’s applicability to fluid machines. The results indicate that the time-SLIP method of tracking labeled water mass is sufficiently accurate for use in simple fluid machinery with slow flows.