We propose an improved density integration methodology for Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) measurements that overcomes the noise sensitivity of the commonly used Poisson solver. The method employs a weighted least-squares (WLS) optimization of the 2D integration of the density gradient field by solving an over-determined system of equations. Weights are assigned to the grid points based on density gradient uncertainties to ensure that a less reliable measurement point has less effect on the integration procedure. Synthetic image analysis with a Gaussian density field shows that WLS constrains the propagation of random error and reduces it by 80% in comparison to Poisson for the highest noise level. Using WLS with experimental BOS measurements of flow induced by a spark plasma discharge show a 30% reduction in density uncertainty in comparison to Poisson, thereby increasing the overall precision of the BOS density measurements.
Synthetic schlieren is an digital image processing optical method relying on the variation of optical index to visualize the flow of a transparent fluid. In this article, we present a step-by step, easy-to-implement and affordable experimental realization of this technique. The method is applied to air convection caused by a warm surface. We show that the velocity of rising convection plumes can be linked to the temperature of the warm surface and propose a simple physical argument to explain this dependence. Moreover, using this method, one can reveal the tenuous convection plumes rising from ounces hand, a phenomenon invisible to the naked eye. This spectacular result may help student realize the power of careful data acquisition combined with astute image processing techniques.
We investigate theoretically and numerically the use of the Least-Squares Finite-element method (LSFEM) to approach data-assimilation problems for the steady-state, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Our LSFEM discretization is based on a stress-velocity-pressure (S-V-P) first-order formulation, using discrete counterparts of the Sobolev spaces $H({rm div}) times H^1 times L^2$ respectively. Resolution of the system is via minimization of a least-squares functional representing the magnitude of the residual of the equations. A simple and immediate approach to extend this solver to data-assimilation is to add a data-discrepancy term to the functional. Whereas most data-assimilation techniques require a large number of evaluations of the forward-simulations and are therefore very expensive, the approach proposed in this work uniquely has the same cost as a single forward run. However, the question arises: what is the statistical model implied by this choice? We answer this within the Bayesian framework, establishing the latent background covariance model and the likelihood. Further we demonstrate that - in the linear case - the method is equivalent to application of the Kalman filter, and derive the posterior covariance. We practically demonstrate the capabilities of our method on a backward-facing step case. Our LSFEM formulation (without data) is shown to have good approximation quality, even on relatively coarse meshes - in particular with respect to mass-conservation and reattachment location. Adding limited velocity measurements from experiment, we show that the method is able to correct for discretization error on very coarse meshes, as well as correct for the influence of unknown and uncertain boundary-conditions.
We theoretically analyze the effect of density/refractive-index gradients on the measurement precision of Volumetric Particle Tracking Velocimetry (V-PTV) and Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) experiments by deriving the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the 2D centroid estimation process. A model is derived for the diffraction limited image of a particle or dot viewed through a medium containing density gradients that includes the effect of various experimental parameters such as the particle depth, viewing direction and f-number. Using the model we show that non-linearities in the density gradient field lead to blurring of the particle/dot image. This blurring amplifies the effect of image noise on the centroid estimation process, leading to an increase in the CRLB and a decrease in the measurement precision. The ratio of position uncertainties of a dot in the reference and gradient images is a function of the ratio of the dot diameters and dot intensities. We term this parameter the Amplification Ratio (AR), and we propose a methodology for estimating the position uncertainties in tracking-based BOS measurements. The theoretical predictions of the particle/dot position estimation variance from the CRLB are compared to ray tracing simulations with good agreement. The uncertainty amplification is also demonstrated on experimental BOS images of flow induced by a spark discharge, where we show that regions of high amplification ratio correspond to regions of density gradients. This analysis elucidates the dependence of the position error on density and refractive-index gradient induced distortion parameters, provides a methodology for accounting its effect on uncertainty quantification and provides a framework for optimizing experiment design.
Wireless sensor network has recently received much attention due to its broad applicability and ease-of-installation. This paper is concerned with a distributed state estimation problem, where all sensor nodes are required to achieve a consensus estimation. The weighted least squares (WLS) estimator is an appealing way to handle this problem since it does not need any prior distribution information. To this end, we first exploit the equivalent relation between the information filter and WLS estimator. Then, we establish an optimization problem under the relation coupled with a consensus constraint. Finally, the consensus-based distributed WLS problem is tackled by the alternating direction method of multiplier (ADMM). Numerical simulation together with theoretical analysis testify the convergence and consensus estimations between nodes.
Least-squares fits are an important tool in many data analysis applications. In this paper, we review theoretical results, which are relevant for their application to data from counting experiments. Using a simple example, we illustrate the well known fact that commonly used variants of the least-squares fit applied to Poisson-distributed data produce biased estimates. The bias can be overcome with an iterated weighted least-squares method, which produces results identical to the maximum-likelihood method. For linear models, the iterated weighted least-squares method converges faster than the equivalent maximum-likelihood method, and does not require problem-specific starting values, which may be a practical advantage. The equivalence of both methods also holds for binomially distributed data. We further show that the unbinned maximum-likelihood method can be derived as a limiting case of the iterated least-squares fit when the bin width goes to zero, which demonstrates a deep connection between the two methods.