CHAPTER 1:

Introduction:
Flow measurement is an important field in fluid mechanics and
modern industries, such as petrol measurements, as well as food industries,
where everything must be counted in a suitable manner, to achieve the
required product with the accepted conditions and specifications.

in the other hand to measure the flow, there are many types of
devices which are used to do so, the variation in the device depends on the
flow state, such as if it is isothermal, viscous flow, liquid or gas, and for gas
measurement, we have to take gas compressibility in to our calculation.

Such a device is called (Flow Measurement devices) as example of

these devices:

1- Thermal anemometer.
2- Ultrasound.
3- Pressure transducers.
4- Turbine flow measurement.

A thermal anemometer, controlled at a fixed temperature above

the ambient, responds to convective heat transfer. With forced convective
heat transfer, the output is proportional to the sensor’s Reynolds number
(Re). Looking at the Reynolds number terms we can see how it measures
mass rate per unit area. It does NOT measure volumetric flow rate but a
density weighted version know as standard flow rate. The thermal
anemometer automatically compensates for density
because it responds to the
Reynolds number.

Figure 1.1:
a- hot wire. b-
ultrasound flow
meter, c- pressure transducers.

1
 CHAPTER 2:

Thermal Anemometer
Thermal anemometer is a flow measuring device that depends on heat
transfer princibles, where the change of the heat in the object can be found
from electric power, and by using the heat laws which also depends on
Reynolds number, and Reynolds number depends on the flow velocity and
density.

2.1 Definition:
A thermal anemometer uses a heated probe element that is
inserted into an airstream. Air speed can then be inferred from the heating
power necessary to maintain the probe at a temperature elevation. This
power should be some way proportional to air speed.

In this device an electrically heated wire is placed in the gas

pathway, which is cooled by the gas flow. The degree of cooling depends on
the gas flow rate, which can thus be calculated. A modification of this device
uses a heated screen or film instead of a wire.

The hot wire (usually platinum) has an operating temperature as high as

400°C, and is incorporated into a balanced Wheatstone bridge circuit.
Cooling the wire changes its resistance and unbalances the bridge. Most
designs work on the constant temperature system, whereby a correcting
current is applied through the hot wire to compensate for the cooling effect
of the gas, maintaining a constant wire temperature and thus restoring the
balance in the Wheatstone bridge. This current is measured and from it the
gas flow rate is determined. To compensate for changes in the gas
temperature, a second wire is usually incorporated, which is maintained at
ambient temperature. Minor corrections are also made according to the gas
composition, to accommodate the variation in specific heat capacity, but hot
wire anemometry is generally extremely accurate.
This cooling effect occurs with flow in either direction, and so to measure
exhaled tidal volume the hot wire anemometer is placed in the expiratory
limb of the circuit. It can be modified to provide information about the
direction of flow by using an additional heated wire placed just downstream
from a small bar, as shown in Figure 5b. This bar shelters the wire from the
full cooling effects of flow in one direction but not the other, and thus
inspiratory and expiratory flows can be calculated separately. For this
purpose the sensor must be placed in the Y-piece of the circuit. This
technique is particularly useful for neonatal ventilation.
2.2 Fundamental Concepts:
2
 Thermal anemometer (hot wire anemometer) is a device for
measuring the mass flow rate with the help of heat and mass transfer
concepts.

The thermal anemometer measure the mass unit area flow rate,
so it measures the true velocity of the fluid, but the process must be done at
fixed temperature above the ambient temperature, so it will respond to the
convective heat transfer, so by the forced convection, the output will be
proportional to sensors Reynolds number, and because Reynolds number
measures the density, not the volumetric flow rate, which is known as
(standard flow rate).

2.2.1 Reynolds Number

Reynolds Number Is a dimensionless number which gives the
ration between the inertial forces (ρ V2L2) to the viscous forces (μVL).

Re = ρVDμ = VDν ……………………………………………………………Eqn (2.1)

Where:

ρ = Actual Density of the flow.

V = Actual Velocity.

D = Sensor Diameter.

μ = Viscosity.

ν = Kinematic Viscosity.

The density times the velocity (ρ V) which makes the thermal anemometer
mass flow rate device.

2.2. Standard velocity:

it is the multiplication of ρV normalized to a standard density
(ρs).

Standard Velocity = ρV/ρs………………Eqn(2.2)

Where ρs is the standard gas density (for air at 25℃ and 760 mm Hg is 1.184
Kg/m3).

2.2.3 Standard Volumetric flow rate:

3
 It the product of the velocity times density time the area
normalized to standard density.

Standard volumetric flow rate = Area * Standard Velocity

= A* ρV/ ρs..........Eqn(2.3)

• Mass flow rate can be easily calculated by multiplying standard

volumetric flow rate by the standard density.

2.2.4 Standard Density:

Different gases have different standard densities. This is often
described using the gas’s molecular weight (molar fraction or volumetric %
sum of all elements).

ρs = ρ air (MW/MWair)……………..Eqn (2.4)

Then

Mass flow = A (ρV/ ρs) * ρ air (MW/MWair)………….Eqn (2.5)

2.3 Conversion between Actual and Standard Flow:

Conversion between the actual and standard flow can be done
by scaling gas density by using ideal gas law.

Va= Vs (Ps/Pa)*(Ta/Ts) ……………….Eqn (2.6)

or

Qa= Qs (Ps/Pa)*(Ta/Ts)……………….Eqn (2.7)

Where
Va is actual velocity, Vs is standard velocity.
Qa is actual volumetric flow.
Qs is standard volumetric flow.
Ps is the standard pressure in absolute units.
Pa is the actual pressure in absolute units.
Ta is the actual temperature in absolute units (Kelvin or Rankin).
Ts is the standard temperature in absolute units (Kelvin or Rankin).
* °K = °C + 273.16, °R = °F + 459.67.

4
And for more accurate conversion, compressibility (Z) can take place in the
above equation to be:

Va= Vs (Ps/Pa)*(Ta/Ts)*(Za/Zs) …………..Eqn (2.8)

2.4 Dynamic Theory of the Anemometer:

An anemometer is an instrument for measurement of the
velocity of a fluid or gas. Here the gas is common air. The instrument is fast
and sensitive when used in the right way.
Principle of operation: A thin tungsten wire heated by an electrical current is
cooled by air. The temperature of the wire may be calculated from the
resistance. Therefore the velocity of the air may be calculated from the
resistance R of the wire and the electrical current I through the wire.

• By measuring R & I we calculate the air velocity.

In practice the resistance R is made constant by using a

Wheatsone bridge in which the error voltage E is automatically controlled to
zero. The control system is changing the supply voltage Y of the bridge until
E is zero. In this way Y is proportional to the current I through the wire.

5
 The wire
can be assumed as
first order
system, so small change in the input power will cause a temperature change
of the wire. So by increasing the input voltage Y of the bridge will increase
the resistance R therefore the Voltage error E will decrease.

2.5 thermal anemometer probe types:

Many types of probes have been used, depends on the range and
accuracy many configuration can be used, such as:

1- Probes for single cylindrical sensors:

Probes for single cylindrical sensors are used for one dimensional flow
measurements.

6
Used for max fluid temperature of 150oC, also can be used for liquids and

gases.

Also single sensors 45o to probe axis can be use d in steady flows to
measure turbulent shear stress or two components of velocity by rotating
the probe around its axis.

Used for max temperature of 150oC, and can be used for liquids and gases.

2- Probes for dual cylindrical Sensors:

Dual sensors probes position two sensors in close proximity, generally
in an (X) configuration, for measuring two components of flow and
correlation between them. For accurate measurements. The maximum
turbulence intensity is limited by the sensitivity to flow perpendicular
to the measured components.

7
 Used For maximum fluid temperature of 150oC, used for liquids and
gases.
3- Probes with thermocouples built in:
These probes have thermocouple built in so the temperature
measurement is always close to the velocity measurement, even when
traversing the probe.

8
 Used for gas application with maximum temperature of 150oC.

Accuracy of the hot wire anemometer changes with the change of the
velocity, such as:

Air Velocity Resolution

0.2 to 20.0 meters per second 0.1 m/sec.
0.7 to 72.0 kilometers per hour 0.1 km/hr
40 to 3940 feet per minute 1 ft/min
0.5 to 44.7 miles per hour 0.1 m/h
0.4 to 38.8 knots (nautical miles per hour) 0.1 knots
32.0 to 122.0°F (0.0 to 50.0°C) 0.1° °C and °F

Cost also changes with the change of accuracy and the range the can
be used for.

Prices started at 300$.

9
 CHAPTER 3:

Error Sources for Hot Wire Anemometer

Error Sources can be summarized as:

1- Gas property induced errors.

2- Flow Profile.
3- Acoustic noise sources.
4- Gas Species Decomposition.

3.1 Gas Property Induced Errors:

1- Pressure Changes: Pressure changes effects the calibration of some

gases, like N2 has 2.5% for each 100 Psi shift in its viscosity, which directly
affect the mass flow readings, on the other hand He can be approximated to
have no change with the pressure. Also the compressibility Z can be factor
for some gases, e.g. CH4:

20 °C, 101.3 KPa, Z= 0.9975

20 °C, 800 KPa or 7.9 bar, Z= 0.9875 or 1% deviation.
2- Temperature Changes: Temperature changes will affect the gas
thermal conductivity and viscosity so the calibration will drift. This is typically
2.5% /100 °C. The minimum drift occurs near 3000 SFPM (Standard feet per

10
minute) where the dynamic temperature compensation is performed. The
use of velocity temperature mapping (VTM) or multiple calibration curves for
different gas temperatures largely eliminates this source of error.

3-Temperature Profile: Temperature Profile in the pipe will produce flow

errors. This is caused by using non insulated pipe upstream of the sensor
where the gas is above or below the ambient temperature.
4- Low flow free convective: Low flow free convective heat transfer
forces compete with forced convective and conductive heat transfer forces
for power. This causes measurable errors (depending on gas type,
temperature, pressure, and orientation of sensor to both flow and gravity)
starting at about 300 SFPM and becomes significant down at about 100
SFPM.

5-Wet VS Dry Flow Rates: The thermal anemometer responds to all gas
molecules which hit it. In the case of water vapor (H20) dissolved in Air, it
reads what is known as wet standard volumetric flow or WSCFM. For intake
combustion processes you want to know the dry standard volumetric flow or
DSCFM which is 21% O2 so your fuel air ratio can be properly computed.
Knowing the specific humidity ratio ω you can use the following equation up
to 5% ω and get results within 1%:

DSCFM = WSCFM x 0.622/ (0.622 + ω)

Where
DSCFM = Dry Standard Cubic Feet per Minute.
WSCFM = Wet Standard Cubic Feet per Minute.
3.2 Flow Profile & Correction Factor:

At low velocity, a laminar velocity profile develops across the

pipe cross section as shown in the figure. Note that the peak velocity is
about 30% higher than the velocity average (V average). At higher flow
rates, a flatter velocity profile develops where the peak velocity is closer to
the average. So depending on where the sensor is located, it will read a
different fraction of the average velocity. It is the average velocity multiplied
by the cross sectional area that will obtain the total flow.

11
 The use of a velocity dependent correction factor can convert the
local velocity measurement to average velocity.
Flow = Vlocal*Area*C.F(Vlocal)
The correction factor curve was measured from a 4" ID pipe with
a 2" welded support, triple sting CD sensor. For other sized ducts, the data
can be scaled by the Reynolds Number.

3.3 Acoustic, sound or pulsing pressure induced errors:

It is not verified yet in the laboratory, Pneumatic control valves,
reciprocating pumps, sonic nozzles, pressure regulators etc. all tend to
induced pressure pulsations in to the piping or ducting. At high enough
amplitude, the instantaneous gas velocity will reverse direction when
compared to the average flow. This causes a thermal sensor to lose heat to
this gas on both the forward and reverse flow rate. The heat loss to the fluid
is then higher than it was when calibrated on a gas moving in one direction
at the same net flow rate. So the sensor will read higher flow than is actually
flowing. The source of this pressure wave can be upstream or downstream of
the sensor.
In some plumbing configurations the pulsations will be sympathetic with the
standing wave sound reflections in the pipes which will allow the amplitude
to grow very high. Starting at the fundamental and all the harmonics of the
standing wave pattern these phenomena can aggravate a flow measurement
with a thermal anemometer.

12
3.3.1 Mitigation of acoustic induced errors:
To prevent a standing wave of sound in the piping, we simply
need to introduce enough sound absorption to prevent the buildup of a large
sound wave with each reflection from each end of the piping section where
the flow meter is in.
Elimination of these acoustic induced errors can be controlled using
expansion tanks, mufflers etc. to attenuate the sound waves and return the
piping/duct to a smooth one-way flow field so the thermal sensor does not
produce false high readings. Inserting a tank between the noise source and
sensor is often all that is required to correct this error source. Even a
branching tee with a short stub to a tank will attenuate the sound enough to
correct most applications which suffer from high acoustic noise. In some
applications, a control valve and shut off valve can be swapped so the
control valve is not in the same sound-resonator as the sensor.

3.4 Gas species decomposition from the velocity sensor heat:

Some gas species, like ozone (O3) can be induced to decompose
from the heated velocity sensor. As it requires heat to split up a molecule,
the thermal sensor will read high under this condition. The heat of
recombination, O combines with O to make O2 occurs downstream of the
sensor and is not detected. So while the net chemical reaction from O3 to O2
is exothermic giving off heat, the first step is endothermic. In this case, the
only mitigation is to reduce the application temperature or the sensor
overheats to below the activation energy needed to initiate this
decomposition. In the case of O3, this is 80 to 100 °C.
The opposite issue where the sensor surface could at as a catalyst for a
recombination and the sensor picks up too much heat, so it reads low, has
not been observed but is possible. Higher temperature applications are more
likely to observe catalytic heat absorption.

CHAPTER 4:

Installation & Calibration:

4.1 Circuits and Sensors:

For installing hot wire or hot film anemometer there are many
ways to connect them, such as:

13
 1- Internally heated transistor.
2- Externally heated Diode Bridge.
3- Internally heated NTC Resistor Bridge.
4- Externally heated NTC Resistor Bridge.
5- Hot wire, internally heated.

4-1-1 INTERNALLY HEATED TRANSISTOR - 'TRANEMOMETER'

The temperature sensing
elements are the base-emitter
junctions of two probe transistors
Q1, Q2. The base-emitter junction
voltage is typically 0.7 Volts with
a temperature coefficient near -2
mV per deg C. The lower
transistor Q2 has its collector
wired to its base. This one acts as a
passive diode, only there to sense
ambient temperature. These
transistors form the left side of a
bridge,

the right side is resistors

R1, R2, and the trimmer R3.
Amplifier A1 senses the balance of
the bridge. If the voltage over the Q1 junction is too high, then A1 will drive the Q1 base up.
More current will pass through both transistors but Q2 is fully conducting and does not change
its temperature appreciably with change in current. Having a high collector voltage, Q1 will be
heated while Q2 remains essentially at ambient temperature. That heating lowers the Q1 base-
emitter voltage until balance is restored. The heater and the temperature detection are inherent in
the transistor itself. So A1 keeps Q1 a certain number of degrees hotter than Q2. How many
depends on the trimmer setting, with this circuit typically around 5 degrees centigrade. Resistor
R4 senses how much current is flowing through Q1-Q2. The (small) voltage developed over R4
by this current is amplified by A2 into the output pin 7. A2 has an offset input but otherwise
simply translates the additional current needed to maintain the temperature difference between
the two B-E junctions. The more current, the more heat is being removed from hot Q2. Actually
A2 is not simple at all. If R9 and R10 are trimmers, you can go nuts trying to adjust them. The
reason is that “input offset” in the front. As the bias changes, the gain is affected.

The original article mentions a problem with this circuit. The sensor transistors may latch up in a
current rush mode, with the top Q1 fully on and current limited essentially only by the small
sensing resistor R4. Then Q1 can no more hold its temperature and the bridge balancing fails.
This mode is easily evoked by a minimal disturbance, e.g. like putting a scope probe in contact
with the circuit. The remedy is the threshold feedback from A2 via two diodes (a transistor in the
original article). If the output at A2 goes too high, essentially over some half the supply, then the
feedback diodes open and A1 is quenched such that probe current is cut off again. While this
safety device is in operation, the output of the circuit is in error (output no longer goes up with

14
airspeed). Without it, however, it goes up and stays up
until you turn off the circuit. The capacitor C1 is not
commented in the original article, but apparently slows
operations to be in the tens of milliseconds range,
preventing oscillation. Still this is much faster than the
thermal time constants in Q1-Q2.

Power is supplied from a single 9V battery. The power-on

indicator LED is used to offset the nominal ground and
form a negative supply for the op-amps. Otherwise their
inputs come too close to the negative supply, such that
they do not operate.

It is hard to understand the talk about linearity in the

original article until you realize it is stated for a rather
small range, up to 250 ft/min, 1.27 m/s. I find from my
calibrations in the 1 to 10 m/s range that the device is
close to logarithmic, as seen here in the calibration for a probe with TO-18 case transistors. Its
output voltage increases about equally much for each doubling of the air speed. And this is also
the kind of behavior one would like to have, this largely obviates need for a range switch.

There is some freedom in dimensioning, on one hand the current sensing R4, on the other the
divider R11-R9, these together define the probe 'rest' (still air) current. Additionally the A2 gain
controlling R10 implies a limit on max. Air speed when the feedback diodes open to cut out Q1
heating.

When switched on, the meter goes beyond full scale since Q1-Q2 is initially the same
temperature. Then output creeps down as Q1 heats, takes time. For the balance trimmer R3 I use
a multiturn pot, this is a very sensitive one to set. I prefer to zero the meter output at about 0.25
m/s air speed. Rather than in still air which is somewhat indeterminate because of whatever
thermal convection then goes past Q1, also taking maximal time to reach equilibrium. To get
readings at low air speed like 1 m/s is a matter of tens of seconds.

There remain problems with this circuit. This is the reason I have gone through all the following
variant schemes. The worst objection is the setting of the balancing R3 trimmer that is extremely
sensitive - when you touch it the reading moves very far out before returning to near where it
was, and this takes a lot of time. Also I blame this for poor stability in calibration, several times
it has differed as much as a factor of two in air speed, taking the instrument out from store. It can
be questioned also on more theoretical grounds. The 'cold' transistor Q2 is also heated to a
variable degree because it conducts the governed current. These current times the 0.7 volt Q2
voltage is no negligible power. Also the Q1 base-emitter voltage depends not only on
temperature but also on the controlling base current injected by A1 via R5. This gives a spurious
extra voltage right at the most sensitive spot where bridge balance is sensed; actually causing a
positive feedback that may harm stability.
4.1.1.2. Internally heated transistor - alternate layout

15
 The base potentials of the cold reference Q2 and the hot Q1 are directly compared by the
differential amplifier. Q2 is fed with a largely constant current determined by R1. The amplifier
gain is basically R6/R5 resulting from its negative feedback. The problematic thing is that the
servo action to maintain a temperature difference also implements a positive feedback via R4 and
the base-emitter resistance inherent in Q1. This latter depends rather unpredictably on the Q1
properties. The original #1 circuit has the same problem, but with the present circuit it is easier to
see this is the case. If the positive feedback is too large, then the circuit will go unstable or latch
up, but this can be cured by increasing R4 or decreasing R6.

4.1.2 EXTERNALLY HEATED DIODE BRIDGE

This circuit remains with the principle of diode forward voltage temperature dependence,
but now the hot diode is externally heated by a resistor. This diode was clamped to the heater
with a tiny strip of brass sheet and also sealed to it with a drop of cyanoacrylate glue. The photo
shows the probe tip cold and heated diodes. They are mounted on a flexible multiple conductor
strip, retrieved from a head arm of a junked hard disk drive. The glass encapsulated 1N4448
diodes seem to have a fairly low thermal resistance; the data sheet says 0.24 K/mW including 10
mm leads.
The
small

voltage developed over R3 purports to govern the forward drop difference, and hence the
temperature difference between the diodes. The gain of the balance sensing amplifier is by
necessity moderated by the R5/R4 feedback network, together with a big slowing down capacitor
C1. There is a delay of heat transfer from the heater to the heated diode. If the servo loop gain is
too high, this will make the circuit oscillate between fully on and off. The R6 heater resistor
consumes more power than the bare amplifier can deliver, so an intermediate emitter follower
transistor is added. The rather low input voltage bias to the amplifier from the sensing diodes
necessitates D3 to increase the margin of amplifier negative supply.

The calibration appears to be better reproducible and have a larger air speed range than circuit

16
#1. Also, the characteristic of voltage U vs. air speed is attractive. But response is very slow, and
possibly somewhat oscillating.

4.1.3 INTERNALLY HEATED NTC RESISTOR BRIDGE

The

resistance of an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) resistor, often called thermistor,

typically decreases to about half at a 25 degree centigrade temperature rise. This makes it a very
sensitive component, much used in electronic thermometers. I used Mitsubishi type RH 16 in a
common miniature form, a little bead at the end of two thin connecting leads. In the diagram the
left arm of the bridge is high impedance while the right arm is low impedance. The balance
sensing amplifier provides the bridge feed voltage via a buffer emitter follower to boost power.
When the bridge feed voltage U goes up, then only the low impedance arm of the bridge is
appreciably heated - the high impedance arm holds another thermistor and is for compensation
against ambient temperature change.

This circuit is simple, reliable, and sensitive. But one slight difficulty may be to find a
sufficiently low resistance thermistor such that it can be driven enough hot at high speed, given
the rather low supply voltage. The alternative with R1=10k is for a very moderate temperature
rise, some 5K.

Amazingly, the output sometimes oscillates a trifle with a period of a few seconds, motivating
C1 to quench that. I guess this may be because the NTC chip is heated unevenly throughout its
volume, and that the oscillation period relates to the time it takes for local heat to even out within
the chip.
4.1.4 EXTERNALLY HEATED NTC RESISTOR BRIDGE

17
 Also an externally heated version was tried. The photo shows the probe with the hot NTC
Resistor lashed with thin copper wire to the heater resistor. The original heater resistor
leads are cut off and replaced by 0.24mm wire wrap leads to reduce uncontrolled thermal
leakage. The hot array is isolated from the cold reference NTC resistor by a lashing of sewing
thread.
This circuit performs well, except for its inherent thermal delay between heater and sensor. This
necessitates the slowing down feedback capacitor. Without it the circuit will oscillate between on
and off, with it the final reading is reached after a prolonged delay, to the order of 30 seconds.

This particular probe design is perhaps not optimal. The red markings show readings when the
probe was rotated in 45 degree increments relative to the airflow direction. When the 'cold'
reference thermistor is located downstream the of the hot one, then readings go much too high. It
might have been better when the cold reference thermistor had protruded beyond the heated one.

I believe this is a similar principle as used for a hot ball anemometer in The Amateur Scientist,
Sci. Am., and Nov. 1995. I have not been able to retrieve that article right now, but ISTR that
they used thermocouples rather than thermistors. However, the fairly big balls used there must
make it extremely slow, maybe adequate for measuring average wind speed in meteorology.

4.1.5 HOT WIRE, INTERNALLY HEATED:

The hot wire anemometer is a classical type and
appears to be the one predominantly used for
professional work. An orthodox such probe is made
from Wollaston wire, a thin silver wire with a platinum
core (priced like US$ 500 for 8 inches of it). After
soldering it to its posts under a microscope you etch
away the silver to leave a sub micrometer diameter
platinum wire. An exercise well beyond most amateurs.

I found a workaround to this by breaking the glass bulb

off a small incandescent lamp, the type shown beside.
After soldering its external connecting leads and lashing

18
 The

assembly to a slender wood stick I filed a tiny notch at the bottom of the bulb (at the mark in the
photo). The assembly was cautiously held in a vise and the bulb broken off, using a loose fitting
tube for a lever. It was then mounted in a protective holder, fabricated from 0.2 mm brass plate.
It must be noted that without its bulb and inert atmosphere the filament cannot withstand
anywhere near the original lamp specification before being burned out. Be aware the lamp cold
resistance is 10-20 times lower than what is given by nominal voltage and power. This particular
lamp happens to have 20 ohms cold resistance. For tungsten the resistive temp coefficient is
0.0045 /K such that the bridge balances value of 22 ohms is reached at about 22 degrees
centigrade temperature elevation. This is a very moderate rise, such that correction will be
necessary if ambient temperature deviates appreciably from normal. Tweaking the fixed resistor
values in the bridge allows for some other temperature level. On one hand R2 should be large
enough to ensure the filament is never burnt out. On the other hand R2 and supply voltage limit
heating current such that there is a definite maximum measurable speed.

Few lamps are constructed such that you can break off the bulb, leaving the filament intact.
Another one I found is a 24 V lamp for decoration candlesticks. A 12V 5W halogen lamp was
marginally successful, but since that one has a cold resistance below 1 ohm it draws considerable
current and needs an additional power transistor to drive it.

Having broken the barrier of fabricating a probe, this is my favorite anemometer beyond all
competition. The circuit is simple and stable and measurement time is milliseconds, shorter than
any of the other alternatives by several orders of magnitude. But indeed this can make it difficult
to calibrate, since it follows the rapid speed variations from any turbulence in the air stream.

One must remember that this poor man's version of a hot wire anemometer has its limitations. It
still does not obey King's law, probably because the lamp filament is helically coiled, making for
an outer diameter vastly larger than that of an orthodox hot wire. Also the contact between the
filament and its post may be questionable with the low voltage used in this application. At one
instance I have repaired a faulty probe by carefully pinching such a joint with pliers.
4.2 CALIBRATION:
Calibration of the device is an important thing to get an accurate measurement.
4.2.1 AIR SPEED
To get an air stream of known speed I used a vacuum
cleaner, fed from a variable transformer. That way the fan speed

19
could be set arbitrarily over some range. The cleaner hose was connected to a Venturi tube to
measure flow rate and the device ended with a nozzle where the probe under test was placed
centrally. To extend the measurement range I could alternate between 22, 46 and 86 mm
diameter nozzles.
Knowing its diameter and assuming a uniform air speed over its intake area A (m2) it is
elementary to convert from flow Q (m3/s) into speed V (m/s): V = Q/A. After running for a while
the fan will heat the air passing it.
To avoid spurious effects from that, air was sucked from
the room rather than blown out from the nozzle.
The flow meter Venturi tube has two probe holes
to measure the pressure drop from input to constriction. By virtue of the Bernoulli law this drop
is proportional to the square of the flow rate and was taken with a water U manometer, later with
a differential pressure transducer. The tube was calibrated by measuring the time elapsed to fill a
plastic bag of known volume. The Venturi expands gradually after the constriction such that
pressure is partially regained. This has nothing to do with the flow measurement as such, but it
reduces the throttling effect of the meter.

There are alternative ways of calibrating for air speed. The probe could be put on a motor driven
trolley, or at the end of a rotating boom. Or you could compare with some calibrated reference
anemometer.

4.2.2 TEMPERATURE
One would like to know the temperature of the probe element. For the thermistor
and hot wire this is simple since the bridge balance criterion (same resistance ratio
both sides) tells about their hot electrical resistance. For those the temperature can
then be computed from their known cold resistance and the temperature
coefficient.
For a direct measurement I used a small oil filled container, carried on a digital
thermometer probe. First the anemometer circuit was left to stabilize in still air
and its output voltage was recorded. The container was heated with a soldering
iron and was then left to cool down slowly while its temperature was tracked by
the thermometer. At intervals the probe hot element was dipped into the oil. At the
point where the anemometer output then stayed at its earlier recorded value, the oil
temperature equals that of the probe tip. The small paper wing in the photo was to
shield the cold reference sensor from hot air rising from the oil bath.

4.3 CALIBRATION OF CYLINDRICAL SENSORS

The physics of fluid flow and convective heat transfer are inextricably
linked by relationships of the general form
Nu = ƒ ( Re, Pr, Kn, ...geometrical factors )
Where the Nusselt, Reynolds, Prandtl and Knudsen Numbers are all non-
dimensional quantities. In the context of a cylindrical thermal anemometer, the
above equation may be expanded to give

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 …Eqn(4.1)
Where ρ is the fluid density, U is its velocity and µ its viscosity, d is a typical
dimension such as the hot-wire diameter, is the heat loss, L is the wire length, k is
the thermal conductivity and λ the mean-free path of the fluid and T and Ta the
temperatures of the wire and fluid respectively. The geometrical factors referred to
include not only the length-diameter ratio of the cylinder L/d but also quantities
such as the support geometry for the cylinder and the orientation of the sensor
with respect to the flow. It can be seen that the heat loss depends on many
parameters.
In 1914, King derived a solution for the heat transfer from an infinite cylinder in
an incompressible low Reynolds number flow that may be written as:
Nu = A' + B' Re0.5 …..Eqn(4.2)
where A' and B' are constants so that

……Eqn(4.3)
The rate of heat loss to the fluid is equal to the electrical power delivered to the
sensor V2/R where V is the voltage drop across the sensor and R is its electrical
resistance. If the fluid properties and wire resistance remain constant this
expression reduces to
V2 = A'' + B''U0.5 …..Eqn(4.4)
where A" and B" are constants. When the conductive heat losses to the sensor
supports or the substrate do not change with fluid velocity, the constant A may be
replaced by the quantity V02, where V0 is the voltage across the sensor under zero
flow conditions.
In practice, the voltage registered at the anemometer output is not that across the
sensor but the e.m.f. E that is applied to the top of the Wheatstone bridge, the two
arms of the bridge acting as potential dividers so that the relationship becomes in
effect
E2 - A2 = B U0.5 ……..Eqn(4.5)
The constant A may be replaced by the zero-flow voltage E0 when high accuracy
is not required. In practice, the value of the exponent changes with sensor and
velocity as do the values of A and B and it’s therefore necessary to calibrate each
sensor individually and to check this calibration frequently. An exponent of 0.45 is
nearer to that found in practice.
Since no universal calibration is available, the sensors must be calibrated. To do
this, a low turbulence flow of known velocity must be used. Ideally, the probe
should be placed into it in the same attitude that it will be used.

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In use, errors arise due to changes in ambient temperature and other fluid
properties and due to the deposition of impurities in the flow on the sensor.
Standard procedures are available to correct for the effects of changes in
temperature. The time for which a calibration is valid depends on the individual
situation. In high speed wind tunnels, large particles can remove a wire with
annoying frequency.
If care is taken and calibrations performed at frequent intervals, then an accuracy
of better than 1 percent can be achieved for hot-wire velocity measurements in
turbo machines.
4.4 Probe Response to angle
When a cylindrical sensor is placed so that its axis is not perpendicular to the flow
direction, there will be a component of velocity that is parallel to the axis of the
sensor. If the sensor has infinite length, then the effective cooling velocity that the
sensor experiences is that which is perpendicular to the sensor; the parallel
component has no effect. Thus, the effective cooling velocity ueff may be
obtained from the expression
u cos α = ueff…….Eqn(4.6)
where α is the yaw angle between the flow vector and the normal to the axis of
the sensor. In the case a wire with a finite length, the temperature is not constant
over the length of the wire and aerodynamic perturbations are created by the
prongs. These are taken into account by arguing that the component of velocity
that is parallel to the axis of the wire now contributes to the cooling effect. A
simple probe responds to changes in flow direction in a manner shown in the
figure below. The interference of the prongs can be reduced by using prongs that
are more widely spaced and plating the ends of the sensing wire with copper or
gold to ensure there is little resistance heating except in the central un-plated
portion. In this case variation of pitch angle does not affect the response greatly.
It is important to recognize that cylindrical hot-wire and hot-film sensors are
capable only of determining the magnitude of the velocity (or a vector component)
since the heat transfer is the same whatever the sign of the vector. As a result,
conventional sensors are unsuitable for use when the flow reverses such as
happens inside separation bubbles. Under these circumstances, specialized
multiple sensor probes capable of determining the magnitude and direction of the
flow are required.

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 Typical hot wire response curve to yaw angle

4.4Velocity and Angle Measurements

Two wires arranged as an X probe can be used to make two-dimensional
measurements. In the three-sensor method that is employed when three-
dimensional information is required, the three elements of a probe are usually
aligned with the axes of a rectangular system of co-ordinates. This probe allows
the simultaneous determination of the three velocity components and six
turbulence quantities but the spatial resolution is relatively poor. A reduced spatial
resolution implies often restricts the effective frequency response much more than
the thermal response of the individual sensors.
The calibration and repair of three sensor probes is very time consuming. An
alternative technique to using multi-sensor probes involves the use just one sensor
but placing the sensor at a number of orientations to the flow. Strictly, only three
orientations are required to find the mean components of velocity but the method
can be improved by using the method of least squares.
4.5 Turbulence Measurements
The figure below shows a typical measurement situation where U is the mean
fluid velocity that is normal to the wire and u, v and w are velocity fluctuations in
three perpendicular directions. The axis of the sensor is aligned with the w
direction so that the sensor will have a very poor response to the w component
providing that the length-diameter ratio of the sensor is large (i.e. L/d>200).
Therefore, the sensor sees the effective cooling vector U' which, providing v is not
too large, has the same magnitude as (U+u') so that at low turbulence intensities
the wire is measuring the magnitude of the velocity in the direction of the mean

flow. Thus, the stream-wise turbulence intensity can be derived by

calculating the root-mean-square of the velocity-time history. In isotropic

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turbulence, this measurement and that of the mean velocity are in error by about 2
percent when the turbulence intensity is about 20 percent.

Mean (U) and Instantaneous (u') flow velocities

To obtain the components of turbulence that are normal to the mean flow vector, a
variety of two and three sensor techniques are used to determine the magnitude
and direction of the instantaneous flow vector. From this, the time-mean and
turbulent flow properties may be found.
4.6 Boundary Layer Measurements
It is an unfortunate consequence of the laws of heat transfer that when a heated
element is positioned close to a solid surface, an increase in heat transfer occurs. A
correction must therefore be made to the general form of King's law if accurate
measurements of the blade surface boundary layers are to be obtained. In the case
of a 5 µ m diameter wire, the effect of wall proximity upon the heat transfer
extends to 1-2 mm from the surface so that the effects of wall proximity are
present in many measurements.
The still-air correction technique is the most commonly used. It involves the
measurement of the heat transfer from the wire to the blade surface in still air at
the various locations encountered in the experiment. The heat transfer is
proportional to the square of the bridge output voltage, E02 in still air. The general
form of King's law equation is then modified to give
E2 - A2 - [E02(y) - E02(0)] = B Un……Eqn(4.7)
Where the constants A, k and n have the same values as determined from a free-
stream calibration and the term in the square brackets represents the increased heat
transfer.

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25
26
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For air calibration

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For Liquid Calibration

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