A digital large-format long-distance micro-particle image velocimetry system (mu-PIV) was developed to measure the wall-shear-stress and the near-wall flow properties in a laminar, transitional and turbulent boundary layer flow along a flat plate, non-intrusively with high accuracy and spatial resolution. To achieve the desired measurement accuracy and spatial resolution, all experimental limitations associated with the seeding, light-sheet, out-of-focus particles, optical aberrations and distortions were successfully solved and various spatial correlation image analysis approaches based on the two-point or single-pixel ensemble correlation were developed, analyzed and compared with the state-of-the-art spatial correlation techniques. The instrument is well suited to prove fundamental fluid mechanical hypotheses such as the universality of the constants kappa and B of the logarithmic law. However, for the analysis of flows at large Reynolds and Mach numbers, where small spatial dimensions and strong flow gradients prevent accurate measurements, this technique can be applied as well.
