Hot Wire Anemometry

• Applications
• Advantages & Disadvantages
• Principles of Operation
• Hot‐Wire Probes
• HWA Modes, Governing Equations
• Calibration
• Directional Response
• Turbulence Measurements

Current & Voltage Measurements, Wheatstone Bridge

 Hot‐wire Anemometer

 Almost all naturally occurring flows on earth, in oceans, and atmosphere are turbulent
 Hence, measurement of turbulent components in fluid flow is important

LARGE EDDIES IN A TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER

M. Gad‐el‐Hak VORTICES ISSUED FROM THE ROTOR BLADE TIPS OF A
Virginia Commonwealth University HELICOPTER IN FORWARD FLIGHT
Henri Werlé
ONERA
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

PROPERTIES OF AN IDEAL ANEMOMETER

 High sensitivity (small changes can be measured)

 High frequency response

 Wide operational range

 Non-intrusive

 Fine spatial resolution – (related to resolving the energy of small scale turbulent
structures in flow)

 High accuracy

 Low cost

 Sensitivity of flow direction, ability to use in reverse flow

 Easy to use
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Hot Wire Anemometry

 Measurement of instantaneous velocities and
temperature at a point in a flow

 An intrusive technique – Insertion of a probe

in to the flow field disturbes flow

 Hot wire anemometry is an ideal tool for

measurement of velocity fluctuations in time
domain in turbulent flows

 Principal tool for basic studies of physics of

turbulent flows Hot-wire Probe
 HWA is necessary to carry out fundamental
(Dantec)
turbulence studies and develop realistic
turbulence models
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Advantages:

 Good Frequency response: Measurements to several hundred kHz possible, 1 MHz also

feasible

 Wide velocity range (from a few cm/s to supersonic speeds)

 Eddies down to fractions of a mm can be resolved.

 3 velocity components can be measured

 Low noise levels

 Real-time continuous (analog) output signal directly related to the instantaneous velocity

acting on the sensor

 Statistics in both the amplitude domain and in the frequency domain

 Measurement of turbulent quantities such as vorticity, dissipation rate, etc.

 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Disadvantages:

 Intrusive Technique: effect of probe and support to flow field

 Wire sensor can be broken due to vibrations at high velocities

 Fluid used in hot-wire applications should be free of contamination

• Deposition of impurities in flow on sensor alters the calibration characteristics and

reduces frequency response

• Higher scale impurities can cause probe breakage / failure

 Measurement errors at highly turbulent flows

 Hot‐wire Anemometer
Principles of Operation
 Thermal anemometers consist of
an electrically heated sensor
along with appropriate electronics Current I Sensor dimensions:
length ~1 mm
diameter ~5 micrometer
 When a current is passed through
wire, heat is generated (I2Rw)
 In equilibrium, this must be
balanced by heat loss (convection, Velocity U
Wire supports
(St.St. needles)
conduction & radiation) to the Sensor (thin wire)
surroundings

If velocity changes,
 convective heat transfer coefficient will change
 wire temperature will change
 and eventually reach a new equilibrium
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Constant Current Anemometer - CCA

 Current through sensor is kept constant

 Constant Current wire resistance Rw changes

Wheatstone bridge is used to measure difference in resistance

High frequency response

Difficult to use
Output decreases with velocity
Risk of probe burnout
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Constant Temperature Anemometer - CTA

Wire temperature is kept constant wire resistance Rw remain

constant current I is an indicator of velocity

Sensor resistance is
kept constant by a servo
amplifier
• Easy to use
• High frequency response
• Low noise
• Accepted standard
• More complex circuit
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Constant Temperature Anemometer - CTA

(e2 - e1) voltage
Flow velocity
difference
changes
changes

Input signal to
servo-amplificator
changes

Electric current (I)

through the wire sensor
is adjusted by servo
amplificator
The sensor wants to cool down as fluid
velocity increases, but electronic controls
Wire resistance (a Wheatstone bridge) maintain the
returns to its original temperature by varying the electric current
value I that passes through the sensor.
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Governing Equations:

W  Q  Qi

W  I 2 Rw

W: Power generated by Joule heating

: Heat transferred to surroundings
: thermal energy stored in wire
: heat capacity of wire

W Q
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Assumptions
• Radiation losses small
W Q • Conduction to wire supports small
• Tw uniform over length of sensor
I 2 Rw  hA(Tw  Ta ) • Velocity vector is normal to wire and
uniform over its entire length, and also
Nu 
hd A small compared to sonic speed
I 2 Rw  kNu (Tw  Ta )
k d • Fluid temperature and density
constant
Nu  A1  B1 Re n I 2 Rw  (Tw  Ta )( A2  B2U n )

Rw and Tw are constants for CTA

I 2 Rw 2  E 2  A  BU n
King’s Law
 Hot‐wire Anemometer
 Wire sensors are generally made of tungsten, platinum, gold or platinum‐iridium
alloys

 Film sensors consist of a platinum thin metallic film mounted on a ceramic or quartz
support
Probe Structure Hot‐wire Anemometer
 Wire length should be as short as possible
(spatial resolution; probe length << eddy size)
 Probe prongs are designed to minimize heat
loses
 Probe interference with flow field must be
minimized
 Aspect ratio (l / d) should be high (to
minimize effects of end losses)
 Temperature coefficient of resistance should
be high
 Uniform temperature distribution along wire
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Calibration • For all actual measurements, direct

calibration of the anemometer is
necessary

• Probe is exposed to known velocities

and output voltage is recorded during
the calibration

• Turbulence intensity of calibration flow

must be low

• Ambient temperature must be kept

constant during the calibration

U  C0  C1E  C2 E 2  C3 E 3  C4 E 4
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

 Calibration curve is obtained from

the correlation between output
voltage and flow velocity

 Calibration curve of a hot‐wire probe

is typically not linear and sensitivity
increases with increasing velocity

 A, B and n coefficients defined by

King’s Law can be obtained from
calibration data

E 2  A  BU n
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Directional Sensitivity

k , h = yaw and pitch coefficients

UN, UT, and UB are orthogonal components

of the velocity vector with respect to sensor
coordinate system

Each velocity component generates a different

cooling effect. One of the most accurate
expressions for the effective cooling velocity in a
three‐dimensional flow field is that proposed by
Jorgensen
2
U eff  U N2  k 2U T2  h 2U B2
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

2D velocity measurements

wire 2

wire 1
U  U1 cos 1  U 2 cos  2
V  U1 sin 1  U 2 sin  2

α1: Angle between wire 1 and the x axis

2
U eff1  U 21  k 2U12
α2 : Angle between wire 2 and the x axis
2
U eff2  U12  k 2U 22
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Calibration Curves

Uc1,Uc2 vs. Angle K1,K2 vs. Angle

34.68 3.000

29.14 0.600

23.59 0.200
Uc1,Uc2 K1,K2

18.04 -0.200

12.49 -0.600

6.945 -1.000
-40.00 -24.00 -8.000 8.000 24.00 40.00 -40.00 -24.00 -8.000 8.000 24.00 40.00
Angle (deg) Angle (deg)
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Probe Types

Film Probes X-probes for 2D flows

Fiber-Film Probes Tri-axial probes for 3D flows

 Hot‐wire Anemometer
Turbulence Measurements
 Instantaneous velocity in turbulent flow can be Urms
expressed as: Uort

u (t )  u  u (t )

 where ū is the mean velocity and u’ is the fluctuating component.

1 n
 Mean velocity is given by : u   ui
n i 1
 the second moment of turbulent fluctuations or variance <(u’)2> is a measure of
intensity of fluctuations

1 n
u  (t ) 
2

n  1 i 1
(ui  u ) 2 u 2 (t )  urms

urms
 Turbulence intensity 
u
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

3-channel CTA System (Dantec Dynamics)

 Hot‐wire Anemometer

 System components

Q  f (U , T , k ,  ,  ,  )
 Hot‐wire Anemometer

Steps needed to obtain good measurements:

• Have an idea about the flow (velocity range, dimensions, frequency)
• Select correct probe and anemometer configuration
• Select proper A/D board
• Perform set‐up (hardware set‐up, velocity calibration, directional
calibration)
• Make a first rough verification of the assumptions about the flow
• Recalibrate to make sure that the anemometer/probe has not drifted
 Many measuring devices depend on some electrical principle for their operation and
nearly all data gathering, transmission, and analysis systems depend on electronic
devices
 For example, the remote measurement and recording of temperature is ordinarily
accomplished in the following way
 A transducer is installed at the location of interest, and this device converts the
temperature at any given time to an equivalent electric voltage
 This voltage is then transmitted to a receiving station where it is displayed in an
appropriate fashion
 Electrical devices are involved at every stage of this process

FORCES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC ORIGIN

 Total force acting on a current carrying conductor immersed in a magnetic field B;
L
F   i(d S x B)
0
 Force is perpendicular to the plane defined by the conductor axis and the magnetic
field B
 If we consider the situation in which the conductor axis is perpendicular magnetic
field.
F  BiL
 This equation is important because it provides a bridge between a basic electrical
quantity i and a mechanical property F
 In fact, this equation reduces the problem of measuring a current to the more
familiar problem of measuring a force
 k
i x
F = kx BL
i

F = BiL
B

 As long as the quantities B, L and k are known, above equation offers a direct
method of determining the current i flowing in a conductor
 We need only measure the total deflection x and then calculate the current
 If a time varying current i is applied to the conductor, the position x of the
conductor will also change with time
 As long as the current changes slowly (so that the mechanical system is in
equilibrium at each instant of time) the equation remains valid, and a plot of the
current‐time function could be obtained by recording the position at different
times.
 Such a plot is an analog representation of the current i as a function of time t
In order to extend this concept to more realistic model
of actual meters, we construct a coil, place it in a
magnetic field, and measure the force exerted on the
coil as a result of the electric current flowing in the coil.
If the coil has N turns and the length of each turn in the
magnetic field is L , the force on the coil is F = NBiL . The
force is measured by observing the deflection of a
spring.

D’Arsonval movement, may be used for the

measurement of direct current.
When this movement is connected to an
alternating current, the meter will either
vibrate or if the frequency is sufficiently
D’Arsonval movement high, indicate zero.
Direct Current Alternating Current

i i

t t

T
 Two common types of movements used for AC (I2RMS ) measurement
Iron‐vane Electrodynamometer

• The current is applied to a fixed coil. The Electrodynamometer is similar to D’Arsonval

iron vane is movable and connected to a movement, except that the permanent
restraining spring as shown magnet is replaced by an electromagnet
which may be actuated by an alternating
• The displacement of vane is then current. Consequently, the field in the
proportional to the inductive force exerted electromagnet may be made to operate in
by the coil synchronization with an alternating current
in the moving coil.
Both movements are normally used for low‐frequency applications from 25 to 125 Hz.
 An important feature of the electrodynamometer instrument is that it may be
calibrated with direct current and that the calibration will hold for ac
applications.

 The iron‐vane instrument is not as versatile because of the residual magnetism

in the iron when direct current is used.

 A rectifier arrangement may also be used for AC measurements

 In this device an AC wave form is modified by some type of rectifier such that
current is obtained with a steady DC component
 A DC instrument may be used to indicate the value of the ac current applied to
rectifier
 For measurements of high‐frequency
alternating currents, a thermocouple
meter may be used (up to100 MHz).
A DC voltmeter may be constructed very easily by modifying the basic DC current
sensing device. In this arrangement a large resistor is placed in series with the
movement. Thus, when instrument is connected to a voltage source, the current in
the instrument is an indication of the voltage.

The voltmeter is usually rated with

in terms of the input voltage for full
scale deflection or in terms of the
ratio of internal resistance to the
voltage for full scale deflection.

Electrostatic forces may also

be used to indicate electric
potantial difference.
The use of analog meters is limited by accuracy with which the position of the
indicator with respect to the scale can be read. Parallax is also a problem, and many
times two individuals can read the same meter and arrive a different values of
quantity measured. With a digital meter, the value of the measured quantity is shown
directly as a series of digits. The inherent accuracy of digital meters is much greater
than that of analog meters.
The heart of digital meters is an oscillator or a «clock» which is often a quartz crystal.
It establishes an output voltage which is almost sinusoidal with a fixed frequency.
Typical operation is characterized by the following;
a) The capability to generate an internal reference voltage and decrease it linearly
from 10 V to 0 V at a rate of 0.1 V/s.
b) The ability to compare the reference voltage to the voltage being measured and to
generate a signal when the two are equal.
c) The ability to generate another signal when the reference voltage has reached 0 V.
For simplicity, assume that the clock generates V
one pulse each second. Let us see how voltage 10
can be determined using this set of capabilities.
All we need to do is start counting the clock pulses
when the reference voltage equals the voltage 2.3
being measured and stop the counting when the
reference voltage reaches zero. t
77s 100s
23s0.1 V/s = 2.3V
23s
• A digital voltmeter can be converted in to an ammeter (an
instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit) by
including a precision resistor within the instrument and measuring
the voltage drop across the resistor caused by an unknown current
• In a similar fashion, unknown resistances can be measured by
incorporating an accurate current passing through the unknown
resistor
• Difference of digital meters from analog meters is that the digital
meters respond to and measure voltages directly
  Improvement in measurement and
accuracy is provided by so called bridge
circuits (Wheatstone, Wien, Owen,
Resonance, Maxwell), which are employed
in a variety of applications for
measurement of resistance, inductance,
and capacitance under both steady‐state
and transient conditions

 The Wheatstone bridge is normally used

for the comparison and measurement of
resistances in the range of 1Ω to 1M Ω

• R2 and R3 are known resistors, R1 is variable resistance and Rx is the unknown

resistance value associated with the transducer output
• The Wheatstone bridge is widely used for measuring the output resistance of
various transducers, such as resistance thermometers, strain‐gages and other
devices
 The voltage E is applied to the
bridge by closing the switch S1

 Current between B and D can be Vin  VABC  VADC

measured by closing the switch S2.  I ABC ( R2  R3 )  I ADC ( R1  Rx )
Vin
VAB  I ABC R2  R2
R2  R 3
Vin
VAD  I ADC R1  R1
R1  R x
Vin Vin
Vg  VAB  VAD  R2  R1
R2  R3 R1  Rx
Rx R2  R3 R1
 Vin
( R2  R3 )( R1  Rx )