This proposal is for the acquisition of a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system for a variety of studies involving complex fluids including investigating flows of non-Newtonian fluids, suspensions and fluid flow in complex geometries. These studies are pertinent in applications throughout biology, engineering and geophysics. The investigators who will utilize this instrument represent different disciplines within the College of Science and Mathematics and also Art & Design at Montclair State University such as Physics (Drs. Vaidya,Truitt), Applied Mathematics(Drs. Forgoston, Mukherjee, Trubatch and Yecko), Biology (Dr. Vanderklein), Computer Science (Dr. Robila ) and Photography (Prof. Schnitzer). The PIV system will be housed in and become an integral part of the Complex Fluids Lab in room 224B of the Mathematical Sciences department. The specific targets for study include (i) vortex induced oscillations, (ii) flows of ferromagnetic fluids and liquid crystals, (iii) geophysical flows and (iv) flow in plants. The PIV system will enable the PIs to obtain high quality flow data for a set of research problems where critical progress demands more information on spatial and temporal scales, obtained non-invasively. The high speed camera will provide experimentally relevant temporal tracking of flow patterns.
