Incoherent Flow Imaging

Abstract

A method for the multidimensional measurement of flow fields in liquids by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is discussed. It is assumed that the flow field at a given point in space is given by the superposition of two components. The first component, characterizing the average bulk flow, is called the coherent velocity. The incoherent flow field super-imposed on top of the coherent one is assumed to be random as one may find in turbulent flow. Limiting cases are discussed. It is shown that coherent flow introduces a phase into NMR images whereas the incoherent one causes a reduction of signal intensity similar to the one given by T2 or diffusion processes.