Tomographic reconstruction of stratified fluid flow

Abstract

A method for imaging a moving fluid is proposed and evaluated by numerical simulation. A cross-section of a three-dimensional fluid is probed by high-frequency acoustic waves from several different directions. Assuming straight-ray geometric acoustics, the time of flight depends on both the scaler sound speed and the vector fluid velocity. By appropriately combining travel times, projections of both the sound speed and the velocity are isolated. The sound speed is reconstructed using the standard filtered backprojection algorithm. Though complete inversion of velocity is not possible, sufficient information is available to recover the component of fluid vorticity transverse to the plane of insonification. A new filtered backprojection algorithm for vorticity is developed and implemented. To demonstrate the inversion procedure, a 3-D stratified fluid is simulated and travel time data are calculated by path integration. These data are then inverted to recover both the scaler sound speed and the vorticity of the evolving flow.<>