Fundamentals of Hot Wire Anemometry

Book excerpt: This 1985 book provides a summary of the theory and practice of the hot wire anemometer, an instrument used to measure the speed of fluid flow. Many techniques and uses of this instrument are discussed in detail. The author considers such topics as probe fouling, probe design, and circuit design, as well as the thermodynamics of heated wires and thin films. He also discusses measurements of turbulence, shear flows, vorticity, temperature, combined temperature and velocity, two-phase flows, and compressible flows for measurements in air, water, mercury, blood, glycerine, oil, luminous gases, and polymer solutions. The book concludes with a section on the pulsed wire anemometer and other wake-sensing anemometers. This book assumes a familiarity with basic fluid mechanics. However, mathematical descriptions occur near the end of each chapter thus allowing those with a limited mathematical background to make use of the practical details at the beginning of each chapter.