Towards analyzing the influence of measurement errors in magnetic resonance imaging of fluid flows : development of an interval-based iteration approach

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides an insight into opaque structures and does not only have a large number of applications in the field of medical examinations but also in the field of engineering. In technical applications, MRI enables a contactless measurement of the two- or threedimensional velocity field within minutes. However, various measurement methods would benefit from an acceleration of the measurement procedure. Compressed Sensing is a promising method to fit this need. A random undersampling of the sampled data points enables a significant reduction of acquisition time. As this method requires a nonlinear iterative reconstruction of unmeasured data to obtain the same data quality as for a conventional fully sampled measurement, it is essential to estimate the influence of uncertainty on the quantitative result. This paper investigates the implementation of interval arithmetic approaches with a focus on the applicability in the frame of compressed sensing techniques. These approaches are able to handle bounded uncertainty not only in the case of linear relationships between measured data and the computed outputs but also allow for solving the necessary optimality criteria for the fluid velocity reconstruction in an iterative manner under the assumption of set-valued measurement errors and bounded representations of noise

Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry Measurement of Viscous Flows through Porous Media: Comparison with Simulation and Voxel Size Study

Studies that use magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) to assess flows through porous media require a sufficiently small voxel size to determine the velocity field at a sub-pore scale. The smaller the voxel size, the less information is lost through the discretization. However, the measurement uncertainty and the measurement time are increased. Knowing the relationship between voxel size and measurement accuracy would help researchers select a voxel size that is not too small in order to avoid unnecessary measurement effort. This study presents a systematic parameter study with a low-Reynolds-number flow of a glycerol–water mixture sent through a regularly periodic porous matrix with a pore size of 5 mm. The matrix was a 3-dimensional polymer print, and velocity-encoded MRV measurements were made at 15 different voxel sizes between 0.42 mm and 4.48 mm. The baseline accuracy of the MRV velocity data was examined through a comparison with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The experiment and simulation show very good agreement, indicating a low measurement error. Starting from the smallest examined voxel size, the influence of the voxel size on the accuracy of the velocity data was then examined. This experiment enables us to conclude that a voxel size of 0.96 mm, which corresponds to 20% of the pore size, is sufficient. The volume-averaged results do not change below a voxel size of 20% of the pore size, whereas systematic deviations occur with larger voxels. The same trend is observed with the local velocity data. The streamlines calculated from the MRV velocity data are not influenced by the voxel size for voxels of up to 20% of the pore size, and even slightly larger voxels still show good agreement. In summary, this study shows that even with a relatively low measurement resolution, quantitative 3-dimensional velocity fields can be obtained through porous flow systems with short measurement times and low measurement uncertainty

Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry Measurement of Viscous Flows through Porous Media: Comparison with Simulation and Voxel Size Study

Studies that use magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) to assess flows through porous media require a sufficiently small voxel size to determine the velocity field at a sub-pore scale. The smaller the voxel size, the less information is lost through the discretization. However, the measurement uncertainty and the measurement time are increased. Knowing the relationship between voxel size and measurement accuracy would help researchers select a voxel size that is not too small in order to avoid unnecessary measurement effort. This study presents a systematic parameter study with a low-Reynolds-number flow of a glycerol–water mixture sent through a regularly periodic porous matrix with a pore size of 5 mm. The matrix was a 3-dimensional polymer print, and velocity-encoded MRV measurements were made at 15 different voxel sizes between 0.42 mm and 4.48 mm. The baseline accuracy of the MRV velocity data was examined through a comparison with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The experiment and simulation show very good agreement, indicating a low measurement error. Starting from the smallest examined voxel size, the influence of the voxel size on the accuracy of the velocity data was then examined. This experiment enables us to conclude that a voxel size of 0.96 mm, which corresponds to 20% of the pore size, is sufficient. The volume-averaged results do not change below a voxel size of 20% of the pore size, whereas systematic deviations occur with larger voxels. The same trend is observed with the local velocity data. The streamlines calculated from the MRV velocity data are not influenced by the voxel size for voxels of up to 20% of the pore size, and even slightly larger voxels still show good agreement. In summary, this study shows that even with a relatively low measurement resolution, quantitative 3-dimensional velocity fields can be obtained through porous flow systems with short measurement times and low measurement uncertainty

SWIRLING FLOW FORMATIONS IN CIRCULAR CHANNELS

The presented work discusses the topology of swirling flows in circular channels. A comprehensive parameter study is conducted with the objective to investigate the sensitivity of such flows to geometric and fluid mechanic parameters. The swirling flow system in this study consists of a straight tube of large lengthto- diameter ratio with a tangential-type swirl generator at the bottom and a specified outlet at the opposite exit. The study was carried out with the novel measurement technique Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which in combination with Laser Doppler Anemometry allowed the time-efficient measuring of more than 70 parameter combinations. The investigated flows are categorized in sub-critical and supercritical states. One major outcome is the finding of a swirling flow that is remarkably robust although it is a sub-critical flow by definition. This flow formation is characterized by a distinctive three-zone axial velocity profile which in this form has not been reported yet in the literature. The corresponding Reynolds number and swirl strength lie within the technical relevant range. Due to its robustness and applicability, the flow is easy to reproduce and therefore ideally suited as a test case for subsequent studies, such as for the validation of numerical codes