Universal outlier detection for PIV data

An adaptation of the original median test for the detection of spurious PIV data is proposed that normalizes the median residual with respect to a robust estimate of the local variation of the velocity. It is demonstrated that the normalized median test yields a more or less 'universal' probability density function for the residual and that a single threshold value can be applied to effectively detect spurious vectors. The generality of the proposed method is verified by the application to a large variety of documented flow cases with values of the Reynolds number ranging from 10(-1) to 10(7).