A Comparison of Velocimetry Algorithms: Orthogonal Dynamic Programming Based Particle Image Velocimetry Versus Local Correlation Tracking

In the magnetic plasma fusion community and the solar physics research community, different velocimetry algorithms have been used. Those are: orthogonal dynamic programing based particle image velocimetry (ODP-PIV) and local correlation tracking (LCT), respectively. In this paper, a systematic comparison of these velocimetry codes is performed using synthetically produced turbulence data. The spatial scale of a typical turbulence pattern is scanned to examine the sensitivity of these codes on the tracer pattern property. Use of an LCT code is recommended when the ratio of the turbulence pattern size to the spatial resolution is small.