Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special

Topics
Yiannis Andreopoulos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of New York, New York, USA

principles of the technique are relatively straightforward, and

1 Introduction
2 Flow Over a Single Hot-Wire Probe
3 Sensors
4 Spatial and Temporal Resolution
5 Measurements of Vorticity, Rate of Strain, and
Dissipation
6 Hot-Wire Anemometry in Supersonic Flows
7 Micro- and Nanosensors
8 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
1 INTRODUCTION
For more than five decades, thermal anemometry, hereafter
mentioned as TA, remains the most common method used
to measure instantaneous fluid velocity despite the rapid
development of optical techniques such as laser Doppler
anemometry (LDA), particle image velocimetry (PIV), or
global Doppler velocimetry (GDV). The first-ever measure-
ments of velocity fluctuations in a turbulent flow were ob-
tained by using TA. The technique involves the use of very
small probes that offer very high spatial and temporal resolu-
tion in a wide range of wave numbers. In addition, the basic
1 the probes are relatively easy to fabricate. Another advantage
3 of TA is its relative low cost in comparison to other velocity
measurement techniques.
5
The sensors can be operated in the constant temperature
7
mode (CTA), constant current mode (CCA) or constant volt-
age mode (CVA). The technique depends on the convective
8 heat loss to the surrounding fluid from an electrically heated
10 sensing element or probe. There are several textbooks on
11 the subject (Perry, 1982; Lomas, 1983; Bruun, 1995), which
11 cover comprehensively the associated techniques. In addi-
tion, there are several book chapters on thermal anemometry
11
(Tavoularis, 2005, 1986; Gad-el-Hak, 1998; Comte-Bellot
11 and Foss, 2006; Comte-Bellot, 1998).
Cylindrical sensors in the form of hot wires or hot films
are most commonly used to measure the fluid velocity while
flush sensors (hot films) are employed to measure the wall
shear stress. Hot-wire sensors are made from short lengths
of resistance wires and are circular in cross section. Hot-film
sensors consist of a thin layer of conducting material that
has been deposited on a nonconducting substrate. Hot-film
sensors may also be cylindrical but may also take other forms
such as those that are flush-mounted.
Techniques based on TA have been used for many years
in the study of low- and high-speed laminar, transitional, and
turbulent boundary layer flows, and much of our current un-
derstanding of the physics of boundary layer structure has
come solely from hot-wire measurements. Thermal anemom-
etry has been also used in compressible flows with or without
shock waves, and recently it has been extended to measure
vorticity, rate of strain, and dissipation rate of kinetic energy
(Andreopoulos, Agui and Briassulis, 2000; Xanthos et al.,

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DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072
 2 Experimental Techniques for Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Science

Figure 1. Typical measurements of velocity and vorticity vectors, kinetic energy Ui Ui and enstrophy
i
i in an interaction of isotropic
turbulence with a shock wave. Flow description given in Agui, Briassulis and Andreopoulos (2005)
c Cambridge University Press.

2007; Agui, Briassulis and Andreopoulos, 2005). Such mea-
surements are typical in research endeavors that aim at pro-
viding better understanding of the physics of the flows. This
new physics can lead to analytical and computational tools
that can predict the efficiency of fluid systems more accu-
rately than existing methods. Typical measurements of time-
resolved three-dimensional velocity and vorticity vectors ob-
tained with a multi-hot-wire probe are shown in Figure 1.
This probe consists of 12 hot-wires with 9 of them operated
in the CTA mode and 3 wires operated in the CCA mode.
Measurements of longitudinal velocity component U1 , lat-
eral velocity component U3 , density, kinetic energy Ui Ui =
U1 U1 + U2 U2 + U3 U3 and enstrophy
i
i =
1
1 +

2
2 +
3
3 are plotted in Figure 1. These data have been
obtained in a shock tube where a moving shock wave inter-
acted with homogeneous and isotropic turbulence generated
by passing the induced flow behind the shock through a grid
(see Agui, Briassulis and Andreopoulos, 2005). This interac-
tion reduces the flow velocity downstream of the shock and
increases its pressure and density. Each signal in Figure 1
has been normalized by its rms value upstream of the inter-
action. As a result, signals with relatively large fluctuations
are reduced and signals with relatively small fluctuations are
expanded. Thus, all signals have been brought to about the
same amplitude level. In addition, this normalization helps
to determine whether the signal of the particular quantity is
amplified or not after the interaction by observing and com-
paring the respective scale of fluctuations. Each of the sig-
nals, with the exception of that of U1 , has been displaced
by multiples of 5 rms units to provide better visual aid. The
shock wave location is evident in the longitudinal velocity
signal where its value drops substantially and in the den-
sity signal where its value increases due to compression. An
inspection of the level of fluctuations after the passage of the
shock and actual computation of their rms values indicates
that some signals are amplified and some are not. The longi-
tudinal vorticity
1 and lateral velocity U3 signals are only
slightly affected by the interaction. The computed data of this
case show a 2–5% reduction in the rms values, which prac-
tically indicates that within the experimental uncertainty, no
significant changes in the transmission of
1 and U3 through
the shock. Longitudinal velocity fluctuations and lateral vor-
ticity fluctuations
2 are substantially amplified through the
interaction with gains of about 1.3.
The scope of the present chapter is to provide basic infor-
mation pertinent to principles and use of TA. Issues related
to incompressible and compressible flows with a single com-
ponent of chemically nonreactive gas will be discussed in
detail. Emphasis will be given to techniques related to micro
and nanoscales and to measurements of quantities, which are
not in the mainstream such as spatially and temporarily re-
solved vorticity, rate-of-strain tensor, and dissipation rate of

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 Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special Topics 3
kinetic energy which are essential in describing the efficiency
of fluid systems.
2 FLOW OVER A SINGLE HOT-WIRE
PROBE
A hot-wire probe consists of the sensor itself, which is sup-
ported on prongs that are embedded in non-conducting (often
ceramic) material. Figure 2a shows the main components of
a basic hot-wire probe. The sensing element is heated by
a current I under a voltage. As will be discussed later, this
output can be used to provide velocity information. Another
widely used configuration of single hot-wire probes is shown
in Figure 2b. The prongs are further apart, and the wire is
longer than that in Figure 2a. It is obtained in the form
of Wollaston wire that consists of a metal sheath of silver
around the actual sensing wire, which is removed by etching.
Thus, the actual sensor is about 1 mm in length and together
with the two remaining stubs of substantially higher diameter
provides a temperature distribution that is closer to ideal and
minimizes heat conduction effects to the prongs.
The first requirement of every experimental technique is
to avoid interference with the flow itself because any distur-
bance introduced by the probe can alter the flow field sub-
stantially. Consider, for instance, the present case of a single
hot-wire, which is considered an intrusive technique that is
using a probe holder to support the sensor. If the sensor is
located far upstream of the probe holder and the whole system
Sensor
Probe
holder
l Prongs
d operations were not modeled in the present simulations. How-
(a)
Stub
Sensor
Prongs
l
d
(b)
Figure 2. (a) Basic hot-wire probe and (b) basic hot-wire probe
with stubs.
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is designed so that all disturbances introduced into the flow
field travel downstream, the flow at the sensor will not be af-
fected. In separated flows, however, where flow reversals take
place, disturbances propagate upstream and the use of intru-
sive measurement techniques is not recommended. Optical
techniques are more appropriate in these flow cases, which
are governed by partial differential equations that are ellip-
tical, although “flying” hot-wire techniques with the probe
traveling at a known velocity can be used here.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has been
recently introduced by Gong, Xanthos and Andreopoulos
(2009) to study the flow details around single and multiple
hot-wire probes. A commercially available single hot-wire
probe with a wire sensor slanted at 45◦ to the probe axis has
been modeled (see Figure 3a) by using the mesh generating
software GAMBIT and the flow solver FLUENT has been
used to compute the flow field around when the upstream
undisturbed velocity is U0 = 10 m s−1 . Figure 3b shows the
velocity vector plots in the near field of the prongs. It appears
that the prongs cause the flow to divert and produce signifi-
cant disturbances in the flow. The calculations also reveal that
boundary layers are developing over the prongs, which fur-
ther displace the flow. The longitudinal velocity distribution
along the sensing wire is shown in Figure 3c. The data are
normalized by the freestream velocity U0 . Ideally, the veloc-
ity ratio U1 /U0 should be 1 along the sensor as is far upstream
or at locations above or below the probe in the normal direc-
tion where the flow is undisturbed. There are two features
that are noticeable in the velocity distribution shown in Fig-
ure 3c. First, the flow is uniform along 50% of the sensor’s
length only and not throughout the entire length. Consider-
able nonuniformities are evident near the prongs and inside
the boundary layers where the velocity approaches a zero
value. Second, the magnitude of the velocity is about 4% less
than that of U0 in the uniform velocity region and substan-
tially smaller in the rest. Thermal effects and the electronic
ever, it is reasonably safe to assume that the anemometer will
respond through an averaging process along the length of the
sensor. It is therefore realistic to expect that an effective ve-
locity based on this line-average value will be adequate to
describe the local velocity although it may be substantially
different than U0 . In practical terms, some of these flow dis-
turbances can be compensated through detailed calibration.
This CFD analysis has indicated that most of the aero-
dynamic interference is caused by the prongs and not by
the afterbody with the probe holder. This finding agrees rea-
sonably well with the experimental results by Comte-Bellot,
Strohl and Alcaraz (1971) and the potential flow theory of
Adrian et al. (1984). The CFD results have also revealed com-
plicated flow patterns when the probe is yawed at large angles.
 Figure 3. (a) Model of single wire probe used in CFD simulations. Sensor is inclined at 45◦ to incoming velocity vector U0 ; (b) Close-up
view of computed flow field around the prongs. Incoming velocity U0 = 10 m s−1 ; (c) computed longitudinal velocity U1 along hot-wire
sensor normalized by U0 . Incoming velocity U0 = 10 m s−1 .

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 Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special Topics 5

3 SENSORS

A hot-wire sensor has to have small thermal capacity/inertia

so that it provides good frequency response, high temperature
coefficient of resistance, and an electrical resistance such that
it can be easily heated with an electrical current at practical
voltage and current levels.
Commonly used wire materials are tungsten, platinum,
and a platinum–iridium alloy. Tungsten wires are strong
and have a high temperature coefficient of resistance
(=0.004/◦ C). However, due to poor oxidation resistance, they
cannot be used at high temperatures in many gases. Platinum
Figure 4. Thermal energy balance in hot wires.
has good oxidation resistance, has a good temperature co-
efficient (=0.003/◦ C), but is very weak, particularly at high
temperatures. The platinum–iridium wire is a compromise The temperature of the fluid in the immediate vicinity of
between tungsten and platinum with good oxidation resis- the cylinder will have values between the fluid temperature T
tance, has more strength than platinum, but has a low tem- and the wire temperature Tw , and the fluid properties will vary
perature coefficient of resistance (=0.00085/◦ C). Tungsten accordingly. By convention, gas flow properties as thermal
appears to be the most popular choice of hot-wire material. conductivity k, density ρ, kinematic viscosity µ, and thermal
The selection of the diameter of the sensors, d, depends on diffusivity α = k/(ρcp ) will be evaluated at the average film
the particular application. It varies from 0.8 to 5 ␮m while temperature defined as Tf = 1/2(T + Tw ).
its length is between 0.7 and 1 mm. Since these elements are If one restricts the analysis for air only, Pr is constant and
sensitive to heat transfer between the element and its envi- then Nu depends on Re = ρUd/µ, Nu = Nu(Re).
ronment, temperature and composition changes can also be
sensed.
Under the above assumptions, Nu appears to be
The heat transfer rate from the sensor to the fluid can be
approximated by considering the case of heated cylinder at Nu = (C + DRen )(Tw + T∞ )0.17 (2)
uniform temperature Tw inside a steady flow field. This heat
balance in non-dimensional terms can be expressed through where C, D, and n are constants. The heat flux rate QF is pro-
the Nusselt number as vided by the electrical heating and therefore is QF = IE =
I 2 /R = E2 /R, where I and E are the current through and
Nu = Nu(Re, Pr, Gr, Kn, geometry, . . .) (1) the voltage across the sensor, respectively, and R is the resis-
tance of the wire. The technique then can provide QF = f(E)
where Reynolds number is defined as Re = ρUd/µ, Prandtl
under constant I, which is the CCA mode of operation, or
number is Pr = µcp /k, the Grashof number is defined as
QF = f(R) under constant resistance/temperature, which is
Gr = gβ(Tw − T )d 3 /ν2 , where β is the thermal expansion
the CTA mode of operation. A third mode of operation has
coefficient of the fluid and the Knudsen number is Kn = λ/d
been introduced as CVA in which the voltage remains con-
where λ is the mean free path of the fluid molecules.
stant (Sarma, 1998; Comte-Bellot and Sarma, 2001). CVA
If QF is the heat flux convected from the wire to the fluid,
does not require tuning, which is a time-consuming proce-
the Nusselt number is defined as Nu = QF /␲lk(Tw − T ) with
dure and has a greater frequency bandwidth than CTA, except
k being the thermal conductivity of the fluid.
when a 1:1 bridge system is used in CTA.
The electrically generated heat along the sensor will be
In the CTA mode, the above relation becomes the well-
transferred partly to the fluid by force and free convection,
known King’s law (1914):
partly will be transferred to the prongs by conduction and the
remaining will be radiated (see Figure 4).
Rw
For relatively long sensors with l/d > 200, heat rate by con- E2 = A + BUeff
n
(3)
duction QC can be ignored. For the usual hot-wire anemom- (Rw + Ra )2 (Tw − T )
etry temperature range of a few hundred degrees centigrade,
radiation heat transfer QR is less than 0.1% of the convective where Ueff is an effective cooling velocity of the fluid. If
heat rate QC and may be disregarded. Free convection can be we ignore the variation of fluid properties and since Tw is
also ignored if Re > Gr1/3 . constant, then the partial sensitivities of voltage on velocity

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 6 Experimental Techniques for Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Science

and fluid temperature are

1/2
∂E n−1
nYUeff (Rw + Ra )2 (Tw − T )
= (4)
∂U 2 Rw A + BUeff
n

1/2
∂E 1 (Rw + Ra )2 A + BUeff
n
=− (5)
∂T 2 Rw (Tw − T )
Then, E = (∂E/∂U) U + (∂E/∂T ) T and if the objec-
tive is to measure velocity and velocity fluctuations, the par-
tial sensitivity ∂E/∂U has to be maximized and the partial
derivative ∂E/∂T has to be minimized in comparison to the
first one or completely eliminated. In order to achieve this, the
operating wire temperature Tw has to be large since the term
(Tw − T) is in the nominator of ∂E/∂U and in the denomina-
tor of ∂E/∂T . For accurate measurements, an overheat ratio
(Rw − Ra )/Ra = α (Tw − Ta ) of 0.80 is recommended, where
Ra is the cold resistance and α is the temperature coefficient
of resistivity.
3.1 Frequency response
The unsteady heat equation determines the response of a
hot-wire sensor of mass mw and specific heat cw which is
described by the first-order differential equation given in
Bradshaw (1971) as
∂Tw
mw cw = I 2 Ra [1 + α(Tw − Ta )] − ␲k(Tw − T )Nu (6)
∂t
The first term on the left-hand side represents the accumu-
lated heat rate by the wire mass. The solution of this equation
contains the exponential term e−t/M where M is the time
constant:
m w cw ρ w cw d 2 R w
M= = (7)
I 2R a α − ␲klNu kNu Ra
Small values of wire diameter d are used to minimize M,
which in fact is the only control a user can have. The me-
chanical strength of the wire under aerodynamic load limits
the reduction in d. Reductions in M, at the expense of sensi-
tivity, can be also obtained by reducing the ratio Rw /Ra .
3.2 Angular sensitivity
The output of a hot-wire anemometer depends on the yaw
and pitch angles of the incoming velocity vector. Appropriate
Figure 5. Components of velocity vector in wire coordinates.
yaw and pitch angle calibration is required to determine the
angular response of the probe, which is usually carried out
at constant freestream velocity. There are various ways to
express the effective sensor cooling velocity Ueff in modeling
the angular sensitivity, which are based on decomposing the
local velocity vector into the wire coordinates (see Figure 5):
1. Cosine law with Ueff = Uo cos ϕ (see Bradshaw, 1971) is
the simplest of the expressions, and it is valid for small
yaw angles ϕ. It assumes that most of the heat transfer
to the fluid is due to the normal to the sensor velocity
component.
2. According to Champagne, Schleicher and Weherman
(1967), Ueff includes a fraction of the tangential compo-
nent of the local velocity vector, UT , and the expression
1/2
becomes Ueff = (UN2 + k2 UT2 ) where k is a coefficient
with values k = 0.2 for l/d = 200 and k = 0 for l/d = 600.
3. A more general expression for Ueff has been intro-
duced by Jorgensen (1971), which includes cooling in
the binormal direction from the component UB : Ueff =
1/2
(UN2 + h2 UB2 + k2 UT2 ) , where h is another coefficient
with values of the order of 1. Apparently, this is the most
complete expression for Ueff , and it can be applied to any
three-dimensional flow field with reasonable turbulence
intensities.
The coefficients k and h are usually determined through
individual wire calibration and possibly include the unavoid-
able effects of prong and probe holder interference. A single-
sensor probe oriented perpendicularly to the flow direction
can yield information of one velocity component only under
the assumption that the lateral components are considerably
smaller than the longitudinal one. If measurements of two
velocity components are required, then a probe with two
sensors independently oriented at ±45◦ each to the mean
direction should be used. Triple wires consisting of three
sensors are recommended for use in three-dimensional flows.
A way to avoid using explicit expressions of angular re-
sponse like those described above and also to by-pass King’s
law explicit formulation is to carry out a detailed mapping of
the anemometer output voltage E to a specific velocity mag-
nitude |U0 | and orientation angles ϕ and θ. In the case of a

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 Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special Topics 7

triple hot-wire array, three different voltages E1 , E2 , and E3 assume that the size of the sensing area has a linear scale
are mapped onto a single value of a velocity vector: Ls , then the change
of
velocity Ui along the xj direction
will be Ui = ∂Ui /∂xj Ls , and since most sensors are
{E1 , E2 , E3 } ↔ {U0 , ϕ, θ} (8) not able to measure the variation of Ui in the xj direction,
the sensor will measure an area-weighed average of Ui +
This functional relation Ei = Ei (U0 , ϕ, θ), where i = 1, 2, 3, Ui . The question for the experimentalist is whether this
is established during detailed calibration in which U0 , ϕ, θ uncertainty Ui is acceptable or not. However, this is not
were varied by constant increments. This generates consec- always attainable even if fabrication of small-size sensors
utive points on the (U0 , ϕ, θ) space that represents an or- were possible because interference noise may increase the
thogonal parallelepiped. This shape is consequently mapped uncertainty.
onto an irregular prism in space (E1 , E2 , E3 ) where the In case of temporal flow variations, the hot-wire sensor
voltages Ei are not equally spaced. This calibration deter- should have adequate frequency response to resolve varia-
mines the Jacobian of the mapping consisting of the partial tions in the measured quantity within the smallest timescale
sensitivities: acceptable. In most of the cases, separate tests with tempo-
ral step change in the measured quantity are needed to de-
  termine the frequency response of the sensor. For dynamic
∂E1 ∂E2 ∂E3
 ∂U0  measurements of velocity, temperature, or density, the shock
 ∂U0 ∂U0 
 ∂E1  tube is an ideal platform for frequency response tests of hot
∂E2 ∂E3
J =
 ∂ϕ

 (9) wires.
 ∂ϕ ∂ϕ 
 ∂E ∂E2 ∂E3 
1
∂θ ∂θ ∂θ 4.1 Spatial and temporal resolution in turbulent
The condition for uniqueness of the above mapping is that
flows
J =/ 0. This also allows J to be inverted and then used in
Turbulent flows are characterized by a large range of spatial
the actual flow to obtain the velocity components from the
and temporal scales, and the sensors are not only required to
measured Ei through
have adequate spatial and temporal responses and resolution
    but also good response to suddenly changing flow directions
U0 E1 (yaw and pitch response).
  −1  
 ϕ  = J  E2  (10) The spatial and temporal resolution of the hot-wire probe
θ E3 affects the accuracy of measurements of time-dependent
velocity, Ui , velocity gradients, Aij = Ui /∂xj , or vorticity
This mapping is described in more details in Honkan and components,
k . This resolution depends on the location and
Andreopoulos (1997), and it also helped to establish the re- orientation of the sensors used in the technique, the hardware
alizability conditions in order to avoid multiple solutions in used to generate the measuring probe volume and to process
the hot-wire response equations (Honkan and Andreopoulos, the signals. Thus, the technique has a typical characteristic
1993). This is attributed to the strong dependence of length scale, Lp , which is usually associated with the sep-
the nonlinear hot-wire output on the yaw and pitch an- aration distance between the sensing areas and a timescale
gle of the velocity vector in combination with the probe Tp , which depends mostly on the speed of data acquisition
geometry. and the frequency response of the hardware. The technique
should be also able to resolve the small scales that exist in
a given flow, which appear to be the Kolmogorov viscous
scales η = ν3/4 −1/4 for length and T = ν1/2 −1/2 for time,
4 SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL where  is the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy and
RESOLUTION ν is the kinematic viscosity. Probe scales Lp and Tp should
As with any probe, hot wires should be sensitive to small
spatial and temporal changes of the measured quantity in
the flow field. In a steady-state laminar flow, for instance,
the probe size should be small enough to be able to resolve
spatial gradients of the quantity inside the flow field. If we
be less than flow scales η and T , respectively, in order to
capture contributions from the smallest eddies of the flow
field. In case of vorticity or velocity gradients, the small
scales are responsible for most of the content of vorticity or
velocity gradient fluctuations since small eddies are uncor-
related. Wyngaard (1969) evaluated the problem of spatial

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 8 Experimental Techniques for Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Science
resolution of hot-wire-based vorticity techniques and found
that no attenuation occurred for Lp /η = 1, while substantial
attenuation of vorticity was evident for Lp /η > 3.3. The re-
view by Wallace and Foss (1995) concludes that reasonable
estimates of velocity gradients can be obtained without at-
tenuation with Lp /η < 2–4.
Although Lp has to be as small as possible, it cannot be
minimized independently from other parameters. Errors due
to noise in the measurements amplify as the length scale de-
of microcirculation around a small area are obtained and
vorticity is computed as circulation density.
The first definition is based on a Taylor’s series expansion
of velocity in a nearby location, which to a first-order approx-
imation becomes Ui (rj + rj ) = Ui (rj ) + rj ∂Ui /∂rj +
···
For rj in the y direction and rj = (0, y, 0), the above
equation becomes Ui (y + y) ≈ Ui (y) + y(∂Ui /∂y) that
yields the following
 relation to compute the velocity gradient
creases. There is certainly an optimum length intermediate ∂Ui /∂y ≈ (Ui (y + y) − Ui (y)) /y . This relation will
between attenuation and amplification of noise. also define the uncertainties in the measurement of the
Determining η requires a good estimate of turbulent velocity gradient.
kinetic energy dissipation rate  or the total dissipation rate
E (see Andreopoulos, Agui and Briassulis, 2000), which is
very difficult to measure directly in a laboratory. Previous
studies obtained the value of E by making assumptions to re-
duce some of the terms in the expression of the total dissipa-
around a small finite domain of area S normal to the flow.
tion rate (Briassulis, Agui and Andreopoulos, 2001), which
are not always justified. The estimates, which usually are
/S.
provided for E, particularly those based on indirect methods,
may be very misleading. An experiment with poor spatial
resolution will result in attenuation of all measured turbulent
quantities including the dissipation rate, which will indicate
high η and therefore good resolution.
As the Reynolds number of the flow increases, its spatial
and temporal scales decrease. Therefore, if the size of the
measuring volume and the data acquisition rate remain un-
changed, it is expected that the spatial and temporal resolution
of the measuring technique will deteriorate.
Tsinober, Kit and Dracos (1992) argue that the spatial reso-
lution of the probe should be compared to Taylor’s microscale
λ. The work by Agui and Andreopoulos (2003) offers some
additional information on this issue.
5 MEASUREMENTS OF VORTICITY,
RATE OF STRAIN, AND DISSIPATION
The measurement of one or more components of vorticity in
turbulent flows of research and technical interest has been a
long held, but elusive, goal of fluid mechanics instrument de-
velopers and researchers. The review paper by Wallace and
Foss (1995) provides a detailed account of the available tech-
niques, as of that date, used to measure vorticity and compare
existing data. The majority of the techniques are based on
thermal anemometry or on optical methods.
There are two common ways to derive vorticity. In the first
method, measurements of velocity components at nearby lo-
cations are obtained and used in a finite-difference scheme
to derive vorticity. In the second method, measurements
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The second method of estimating vorticity is due to Foss
(1976, 1981, 1994) who has developed a hot-wire technique
for the measurement of the transverse vorticity component.
The technique involves the measurement of microcirculation
The estimated vorticity appears to be computed through the
relation 
z  =
These two methods are not the only ones that are used.
There is no need to have a computational formalism for vor-
ticity when it is estimated explicitly. For instance, direct esti-
mate of vorticity through measurements of fluid rotation does
not require vorticity computation through an implicit scheme
(Frish and Webb, 1981).
5.1 Vorticity probes
Recently, several multi-hot-wire probes have been developed,
which are capable of measuring velocity-gradient-related
quantities. The difference among them is the orientation and
number of wires used. The first few works to provide well-
documented data of vorticity in low-speed adiabatic bound-
ary layers were by Balint, Wallace and Vukoslavĉeviĉ (1991)
and Vukoslavĉeviĉ, Wallace and Balint (1991) and in shear
layers was by Cavo et al. (2007). Honkan and Andreopou-
los (1997) fabricated one probe consisting of nine individual
single-wire sensors. The probe, shown schematically in Fig-
ure 6, consists of a set of three individual triple hot-wire
sensors put together so that the probe remains geometrically
axisymmetric.
Several considerations have to be taken into account in
designing a vorticity probe: (i) the individual wire length lw
should be as small as possible so that small scales can be
resolved adequately. (ii) The size of the individual triple-
hot-wire probe, lp , should be as small as possible to satisfy
the assumption that the velocity does not change substantially
across the probe. Small wire spacing, however, can lead to
thermal interference and cross talk between the wires. (iii)
Since vorticity or strain rate will be computed from velocity
 Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special Topics 9

Each of the 2.5 ␮m diameter cold wire was located on the

outer part of the sub-module.
The hot-wire output voltage Ei of the ith sensor is related
5 to the effective cooling velocity, Ui,eff through the previously
6 mentioned equation (3) known as King’s law (1914):
3 a b
4 Ei2 T0 T0
n
1 = Ai + Bi ρUi,eff (11)
(Tw − T0 ) Tr Tr
x 2 = 1.25 7
2 8
where Tw is the hot-wire temperature, T0 is the total tempera-
ture of the flow, and Tr is a reference temperature, the ambient
9
temperature in the present case. The values of the exponents a
and b were taken as suggested by Kovasznay (1950): a = b =
0.768. The effective velocity Ui,eff is related to the normal,
x 3 = 1.44 tangential, and binormal components of the velocity vector
in reference to the ith sensor, respectively, by

1/2
Figure 6. Sensor arrangement in vorticity probe by Honkan and Ueff = UN2 + h2 UB2 + k2 UT2 (12)
Andreopoulos (1997). All dimensions are in millimeters.

where k and h are coefficients that, for a given probe, depend

gradients, spacing of the individual probes should be finite
so that velocity gradients do not “disappear”. If this spacing
becomes small, the effect of noise may overwhelm the signal
(Wallace and Foss, 1995). (iv) Each of the wires should be
controlled independently from the others. (v) The transfer
function of the hot-wire anemometer system should be a
three-dimensional one. This suggests that the probe should
be able to respond to yaw and pitch angle variations of the
velocity vector in addition to its magnitude.
In the case of Honkan and Andreopoulos (1997) de-
tailed lookup tables were created through velocity, pitch and
yaw calibrations, which are subsequently used to reduce the
acquired data.
A new vorticity probe designed for use in non-isothermal
flows or in compressible flows is described by Agui,
Briassulis and Andreopoulos (2005) and Briassulis, Agui
and Andreopoulos (2001). The probe consists of 12 wires,
which is a modification of the original design with 9 wires
by Honkan and Andreopoulos (1997). The three additional
wires were operated in the so-called constant current mode
and used to measure time-dependent total temperature.
Since the probe essentially consists of a set of three mod-
ules or arrays (see Figure 7a, b, and c), it is necessary to
provide several key features of the individual hot-wire mod-
ules. Each module contains three hot wires operated in the
CTA and one cold-wire sensor operated in the CCA. Each
wire of the triple wire sub-module is mutually orthogonal to
each other, thus oriented at 54.7◦ to the probe axis. Each of
the 5 ␮m diameter tungsten sensors is welded on two indi-
vidual prongs that have been tapered at the tips. Each sensor
is operated independently since no common prongs are used.
on the yaw and pitch angle of the velocity vector. Details of
the techniques associated with the use of triple wire arrays
can be found in Andreopoulos (1983a) while estimates of
errors related to probe geometry and turbulence intensity are
described in Andreopoulos (1983b).
Mass fluxes ρUi can be further separated into density and
velocity by using the method adopted in Briassulis et al.
(1996). Decoupling density from mass fluxes assumes that
static pressure fluctuations are small. This is the so-called
“weak” version of the original “strong Reynolds analogy”
hypothesis of Morkovin (1956). The original hypothesis is
based on the assumption that pressure and total temperature
fluctuations are very small. In the present work, total temper-
ature was measured directly and therefore no corresponding
assumptions were needed. The pressure, however, was mea-
sured at the wall and not at the location of the hot-wire mea-
surement. The mean value of this pressure signal was used to
separate the density and velocity signals since no mean pres-
sure variation has been detected across a given section of the
flow. The procedure involves an expression for mass flux, mi ,
in terms of total temperature, T0 , and pressure, p, at the cen-
troid of each array: mi = ρUi = pUi /RT = pUi /[R(T0 −
Uk Uk /2cp )], where Ui is the instantaneous velocity compo-
nent, i = 1, 2, or 3, and Uk Uk = U12 + U22 + U32 . The velocity
can be decomposed into Ui = Ūi + ui . An iterative scheme
can be used to decouple density and velocity. During the first
iteration, it was assumed that the quantity (u22 + u23 )/2cp ,
where u2 and u3 are the velocity components in the span-
wise and normal directions, respectively, is substantially
smaller that the quantity T0 − U12 /2cp . Then the above rela-
tion can be rearranged to obtain a quadratic equation for Ui ,

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This article is © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072
 10 Experimental Techniques for Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Science

Figure 7. Vorticity probe: (a) probe sensor geometry and arrays and (b) close-up view of the probe.

(Rmi /2cp )Ui2 + pUi − mi RT0 = 0. Further details describ-
ing the use of such probes in vortices where the pressure is not
constant can be found in the work of Xanthos et al. (2007).
6 HOT-WIRE ANEMOMETRY
IN SUPERSONIC FLOWS
The use of hot-wire anemometry in supersonic flows was first
suggested by Kovasznay (1950), Morkovin (1956), Morkovin
and Phinney (1958), and also by Laufer and McClellan
(1956). Since a hot-wire probe intrudes a supersonic flow,
a detached bow shock forms in front of the wire and the
prongs. The actual wire is behind the shock and it senses a
subsonic flow. The measured subsonic flow quantities can be
correlated uniquely with the upstream flow quantities through
the shock wave relations that are based on conservation of
momentum and mass across the shock. Various hot-wire tech-
niques have been used in the past for turbulence measure-
ments in compressible flows (see Smits and Dussauge, 1989;
Gaviglio, 1978; Barre, Dupont and Dussauge et al., 1992).
Hot-wire anemometry remains possible even in hypersonic
flows. This situation has been particularly investigated by
Spina and McGinley (1994).
In most of the cases, only time-average quantities of mass
flux were possible to be obtained because direct measure-
ments of temperature were not available. Some attempts
to extract temperature from the Nusselt number have been
made in special cases, for example, by Kovasznay (1950),
Smits, Muck and Hayakawa (1983), and Spina and McGinley

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DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072
 Thermal Anemometry: An Introduction and Special Topics 11
(1994). The availability of temperature information by us-
ing additional wires operated in the CTA mode at different
overheat ratios (Smits, Muck and Hayakawa, 1983) or in the
CCA mode (Briassulis et al., 1995) allows for a decoupling of
density and velocity.
7 MICRO- AND NANOSENSORS
There has been an increasing interest recently in understand-
ing fluid phenomena at the micrometer and nanometer length
scales. The application of microscale fluid mechanics to
MEMS and BioMEMS represents one of the most significant
practical applications. In addition, there is a need to resolve
smaller scales in measurements of mainstream macroscopic
flows. These two needs led to the development of micro and
nanosensors. Reduction in probe dimensions is expected to
improve spatial and temporal resolution. Another advantage
of these sensors is the potential for no thermal compensation
and therefore great simplification of the circuitry.
TA-based micromachined probes have been explored by
Tai (1985) and Lofdahl, Stemme and Johansson (1992), but
they were never ready for practical use. Jiang et al. (1994a)
developed new micron-size polysilicon wires and demon-
strated the potential for batch fabrication. Jiang et al. (1994b)
have implemented these hot wires into anemometers and per-
formed their calibration in wind tunnels. The micromachined
anemometers consist of a sensing wire, two parallel support
shanks, a silicon beam, and a thick (500 ␮m) Si handle. The
silicon beam is like the probe body and is 1 ␮m long, 200 ␮m
wide, and 75 ␮m thick. The two parallel support shanks are
100 ␮m long, 20 ␮m wide, and 0.5 ␮m thick. Sensing wires
of various sizes have been made, and they are 10–160 ␮m
long, 1 ␮m wide, and 0.5 ␮m thick. This structure is similar
to the conventional anemometers so direct comparison can
be made.
Ebefors, Kalvesten and Stemme (1998) used doped
silicon for both the prongs and the hot-wire sensor along
with polyamide hinge to make a three-component sensor.
Non-silicon-based hot-wires with thermal element size of
2.7␮m × 50 ␮m have been fabricated by Chen and Liu
(2003).
A nanoscale thermal anemometry probe is being devel-
oped by Bailey et al. (2008) with high spatial and tem-
poral resolution to measure small-scale turbulence in high
Reynolds number flows. Two sizes of probes have been fab-
ricated. Each probe consists of a platinum sensing wire of
length 60 × 1 × 0.1 ␮m or 20 × 0.1 × 0.1 ␮m suspended be-
tween two contact pads. Results indicated that the nanoscale
probe exhibits typical hot-wire behavior, but with a frequency
response of at least three times that of a conventional probe.
Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, Online © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article was published in the Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072
8 CONCLUSIONS
Thermal anemometry remains one of the most extensively
used technique in experimental fluid mechanics to measure
velocity and its fluctuations because of its high frequency re-
sponse, good spatial resolution, and low cost. The technique
is based on convective heat transfer from a very small size
wire or film element placed in a fluid flow. In addition to the
basic principles governing the operation and use of sensors
based on this thermal anemometry, this chapter describes de-
velopments in the use of multiple probes and prospects on
micro and nanoscale sensor fabrication.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author greatly acknowledges the contributions made by
Drs A. Honkan, G. Briassulis, J. Agui, S. Xanthos, and M.W.
Gong.
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DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072
Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, Online © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article was published in the Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae072