Particle positioning from charge-coupled device images by the generalized Lorenz–Mie theory and comparison with experiment

Three-dimensional position and velocity information can be extracted by direct analysis of the diffraction patterns of seeding particles in imaging velocimetry with real-time CCD cameras. The generalized Lorenz-Mie theory is shown to yield quantitatively accurate models of particle position, such that it can be deduced from typical experimental particle images with an accuracy of the order of 20 microm and an error of 11 gray levels rms, data obtained by comparison of theoretical and experimental images. Both the theory and an experimental verification of the problem presented here are discussed.