The data are saved in *.npy format which is a binary format, provided by NumPy Python library. In order to read the data, following minimum example can be used (python2.7): import matplotlib import matplotlib.pyplot as plt import numpy as np xg,yg,ug,vg,wg = np.load(fname,allow_pickle=True) uinf = 8 # plotting plt.contour(yg/d,xg/d,ug/uinf,linewidths=0.5,colors='k') plt.contourf(yg/d,xg/d,ug/uinf,15,cmap=plt.cm.jet) plt.colorbar() # draw colorbar plt.show() plt.clf() (fname is the file name, for example "1000.npy") (xg,yg are the 2d coordinates in the measurement section) (ug, vg, wg - velocity components from the PIV measurement) (uinf is the inflow velocity)