ANEMOMETER

AN ANEMOMETER IS A DEVICE FOR MEASURING

THE FORCE OR SPEED OF THE WIND.
“ANEMOS”
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
ANEMOMETERS
CUP (ROTATIONAL ANEMOMETER)

• The cups are placed onto a vertical

axis, and when the wind presses
against them, this causes the cups to
rotate around. The faster the cups
rotate, the faster the wind speed. Cup
anemometers usually have digital
readouts.
Advantages
• Low price
• Flexible design
• Simple installation

Disadvantages
• Without provisions for heating, they don’t work well in snow or freezing rain
• Its starting velocity is often pretty high
HOT WIRE

• It uses an extremely thin wire, which is electrically

heated up to a temperature which is higher than
the ambient. The wire then loses temperature and
gets cooled as the air flows past it.
• Then the current required to maintain the
preferred temperature is measured. Finally, the
velocity of the wind is then determined by the loss
of heat.
Advantages
• Lasts longer than other anemometers
• Hot wire anemometers consist low starting threshold
• Provides error-free reading

Disadvantages
• Ineffective in areas where the temperature fluctuates quickly
• It can get damaged by the dirt
WINDMILL

• The windmill anemometer measures both wind speed

and direction. The anemometer has a propeller located
at the front of the device and a large tail section. As the
wind blows, it presses against the propeller, making it
spin. The rotational speed of the propeller indicates how
fast the wind is moving at any time.
Advantages
• Capable of handling high wind speeds
• Lasts longer
• Made for the heavy-duty purpose

Disadvantages
• You will need to point the unit towards the direction of the wind to get accurate readings
• The rotating parts of the unit may deteriorate over time
• If the vanes of your anemometer are small, then it can sometimes cause high starting speed.
ULTRASONIC

• Ultrasonic anemometers send sonic pulses across a

path to a sensor on the opposite side. As the wind
moves more quickly, the pulses are disrupted. A
measurement of this disruption provides accurate
wind data. An ultrasonic anemometer has no
moving parts and can detect even small changes in
the wind.
Advantages
• Not affected by icing
• Weather resistant and suitable for extreme weathers

Disadvantages
• Very expensive
• Birds may sit on the probes resulting in false wind gusts.
PITOT TUBE
• The pitot tube anemometers use a unique process for
measuring the wind velocity.
• First, it measures the pressure of the wind. Thenit converts
the pressure of the wind into the velocity of the wind.
• The anemometer comes with two different types of tubes:
• static tube; and
• pitot tube.
• The incoming air pressure will be measured by the pitot tube,
whereas the static tube is responsible for measuring the static
pressure in the flow of the wind.
• Afterward, the wind velocity will be determined from these
values by using the Bernoulli’s equation.
Advantages
• Suitable for high wind speeds
• Provides a quick response
• As it includes no rotating parts, it doesn't deteriorate easily

Disadvantages
• Ill-suited for low wind velocity areas
• Inappropriate for fluctuating wind speeds
LASER DOPPLER

• Laser Doppler anemometers utilize the

Doppler effect to determine the flow of
air. Commonly used for high-tech
applications such as in jet engines, the
laser Doppler can measure even the
slightest changes in airflow. This type of
anemometer is also used in river
hydrology.
DRAWING OF A LASER ANEMOMETER. THE LASER IS EMITTED (1) THROUGH THE FRONT LENS (6) OF THE
ANEMOMETER AND IS BACKSCATTERED OFF THE AIR MOLECULES (7). THE BACKSCATTERED RADIATION (DOTS) RE-
ENTER THE DEVICE AND ARE REFLECTED AND DIRECTED INTO A DETECTOR (12).
HISTORY OF
ANEMOMETER
LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI - 1450
Mechanical
Anemometer
He invented a mechanical
anemometer by placing a disc
perpendicular to the wind
direction. The angle of
inclination of the disc would
indicate the wind velocity.
ROBERT HOOKE - 1664 CHRISTIAN WOLFF - 1708

Similar device and is sometimes, German philosopher Christian

incorrectly credited with having Wolff, or Wolfius, also reinvented
invented an anemometer. the mechanical anemometer that
could measure the force of wind.
Dr. John Thomas Romney Robinson - 1846

HEMISPHERICAL CUP ANEMOMETER

A FAIRLY SIMPLE DESIGN THAT

PROVIDES A FAIRLY ACCURATE READING,
IT CONSISTS OF A VERTICAL ROTATING
SPINDLE WITH FOUR ARMS AT THE END.
FOUR HEMISPHERICAL CUPS ARE
ATTACHED TO THE ENDS OF EACH
HORIZONTAL ARM. WHEN THE WIND
BLOWS, THE CUPS ROTATE AND
SUBSEQUENTLY THE SPINDLE ALSO
ROTATES. THE ROTATIONS OF THE
SPINDLE GIVE US THE WIND SPEED.
M.J. BREVOORT AND U.T. JOYNER - 1935

• In 1935, researchers M. J. Brevoort and U. T.

Joyner of the U.S. were able to further
improve the existing three cup wind
anemometer design by reducing the error
percentage.
 DEREK WESTON - 1991 DR. ANDREAS PFLITSCH -
1994.

Sonic anemometer 
In 1991, an anemometer that could measure wind It determined wind velocity
velocity was invented by Australian inventor Derek by measuring the decrease
Weston. Until then, a cup anemometer was unable or increase in sound waves
to determine the direction of wind. traveling between two
transducers.
DIGITAL ANEMOMETER'S WORKING
PRINCIPLE
Digital Anemometer
• Spinning cups turn a paddle wheel
inside a metal canister under a
digital anemometer. Each time the
paddle wheel rotates, it breaks a
light beam and generates a pulse
of current. An electronic circuit
times the pulses and uses them to
calculate the wind speed.