A Comparison of Micro-PIV Experiments in a Mini-Channel to Numerical and Analytical Solutions

In this paper, measurements are presented of the velocity profile in a mini-channel at different locations. The channel is rectangular in cross-section, approximately 1.2mm wide, 1.4mm deep and 29mm long. A micro-PIV system was used to obtain the velocity profiles at the inlet, mid-length and exit of the channel. The raw image maps were processed using three different commercial PIV software packages, and compared to an exact analytical solution. The mini-channel system was also simulated using a commercial CFD code as a further check on the dataset, and the experimental rig itself. It was found that the different processing procedures had little influence on the micro-PIV data, and good agreement was found with theory, numerical prediction and experiment. This establishes confidence in micro-PIV as a measurement tool in micro-systems.