Effects of limited resolution on PIV measurements of boundary layer turbulence in high-speed flow

Particle Image Velocimetry has been widely used to measure turbulent stress levels in high-speed (compressible) wall-bounded flows. Here, we examine the effects of filtering due to limited particle frequency response, the limited spatial resolution of the PIV system, and the cutoff set by the pulse delay time on the measurement of the streamwise and wall-normal components, and the shear stress. These errors can be severe, and our analysis suggests some guidelines for the design of future experiments.