Application of photogrammetry to surface flow visualization

The construction of three-dimensional surface flow fields is an extremely difficult task owing largely to the fragmented information available in the form of 2D images. Here, the method of photogrammetric resection based on a comprehensive camera model has been used to map oil flow visualization images on to the surface grid of the model. The data exported in the VRML format allow for user interaction in a manner not possible with 2D images. The technique is demonstrated here using the surface oil flow visualization images of a simplified landing gear model at low speed in a conventional wind tunnel without any specialized rigs for photogrammetry. The results are not limited to low-speed regimes and show that this technique can have significant impact on understanding the flow physics associated with the surface flow topology of highly three-dimensional separated flows on complex models.