Video-based wave topography mapping and particle tracking on the surface of propagating waves

Abstract

We construct a table-top ripple tank set-up and an accessory wave maker moving vertically across the air-water interface to form progressive capillary surface waves. We employ the Diffusing Light Imaging (DLI) technique to obtain the topography of propagating surface waves and to acquire height values for the monitored 2D particle trajectories (or 2D Particle Tracking velocimetry achieved using nonlinear image segmentation via histogram back-projection) to provide an appropriate 3D Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D PTV) profile. We visualize the motion of a floater particle on the surface of propagating waves via 3D reconstruction of the surface topography with the particle floating on the waves and assign appropriate velocity values for the particle per frame of the single-camera video recordings to describe the trajectory of the particle.