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Anemometer

Hot-wire anemometers use a thin heated wire that cools with air flow, changing its electrical resistance in a way that can be calibrated to measure flow speed. They exist as constant-current, constant-voltage, or constant-temperature devices and have high frequency response, making them well-suited to study turbulent flows. Sonic anemometers measure wind speed using the time of flight of ultrasonic pulses between transducer pairs, allowing 1D, 2D, or 3D flow measurement with high temporal resolution and lack of moving parts. However, their structure can distort flow and precipitation may affect accuracy. Two-dimensional sonic anemometers are commonly used in weather stations and other applications.

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73 views2 pages

Anemometer

Hot-wire anemometers use a thin heated wire that cools with air flow, changing its electrical resistance in a way that can be calibrated to measure flow speed. They exist as constant-current, constant-voltage, or constant-temperature devices and have high frequency response, making them well-suited to study turbulent flows. Sonic anemometers measure wind speed using the time of flight of ultrasonic pulses between transducer pairs, allowing 1D, 2D, or 3D flow measurement with high temporal resolution and lack of moving parts. However, their structure can distort flow and precipitation may affect accuracy. Two-dimensional sonic anemometers are commonly used in weather stations and other applications.

Uploaded by

suvarnscribd
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Hot-wire anemometers

Hot-wire sensor

Hot wire anemometers use a very fine wire (on the order of several micrometres) electrically heated up to some temperature above the ambient. Air

flowing past the wire has a cooling effect on the wire. As the electrical resistance of most metals is dependent upon the temperature of the metal

(tungsten is a popular choice for hot-wires), a relationship can be obtained between the resistance of the wire and the flow speed. [2]

Several ways of implementing this exist, and hot-wire devices can be further classified as CCA (Constant-Current Anemometer), CVA (Constant-

Voltage Anemometer) and CTA (Constant-Temperature Anemometer). The voltage output from these anemometers is thus the result of some sort of

circuit within the device trying to maintain the specific variable (current, voltage or temperature) constant.

Additionally, PWM (pulse-width modulation) anemometers are also used, wherein the velocity is inferred by the time length of a repeating pulse of

current that brings the wire up to a specified resistance and then stops until a threshold "floor" is reached, at which time the pulse is sent again.

Hot-wire anemometers, while extremely delicate, have extremely high frequency-response and fine spatial resolution compared to other measurement

methods, and as such are almost universally employed for the detailed study of turbulent flows, or any flow in which rapid velocity fluctuations are of

interest.

Sonic anemometers

3D ultrasonic anemometer
Sonic anemometers, first developed in the 1970s, use ultrasonic sound waves to measure wind velocity. They measure wind speed based on the time

of flight of sonic pulses between pairs of transducers. Measurements from pairs of transducers can be combined to yield a measurement of velocity in

1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional flow. The spatial resolution is given by the path length between transducers, which is typically 10 to 20 cm. Sonic anemometers

can take measurements with very fine temporal resolution, 20 Hz or better, which makes them well suited for turbulence measurements. The lack of

moving parts makes them appropriate for long term use in exposed automated weather stations and weather buoys where the accuracy and reliability

of traditional cup-and-vane anemometers is adversely affected by salty air or large amounts of dust. Their main disadvantage is the distortion of the

flow itself by the structure supporting the transducers, which requires a correction based upon wind tunnel measurements to minimize the effect. An

international standard for this process, ISO 16622 Meteorology—Sonic anemometers/thermometers—Acceptance test methods for mean wind

measurements is in general circulation. Another disadvantage is lower accuracy due to precipitation, where rain drops may vary the speed of sound.

Since the speed of sound varies with temperature, and is virtually stable with pressure change, sonic anomometers are also used asthermometers.

Two-dimensional (wind speed and wind direction) sonic anemometers are used in applications such as weather stations, ship navigation, wind

turbines, aviation and weather buoys.

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