Abstract
The instantaneous velocity vectors in the thermally driven turbulent boundary layer in air along a vertical plate heated at high temperatures were measured by using a PIV to accumulate experimental data for the velocity field. The effects of PIV parameters on the experimental results were investigated, especially paying attention to the large-scale fluid motions in the outer layer, which play a predominant role in the generation of turbulence. The turbulent statistics revealed that the transverse velocity fluctuation (perpendicular to flat plate) depended on the PIV parameters, while the mean streamwise velocity did not change with the parameters. In addition, it was found that a discontinuous distribution appeared in instantaneous velocity fluctuations measured without the sub-pixel algorithm.
