Dynamical analysis of electrochemical wall shear rate measurements

Abstract

The performance of a circular electrochemical wall shear rate probe under unsteady flow conditions is analysed through a combined experimental, numerical and analytical approach. The experiments arc performed with a ferri- and ferrocyanide redox couple and compared to finite element analyses of the two-dimensional time-dependent convection—diffusion equation. The results are related to the analytical Lévêque solution for steady flow and for some cases to Pedley's model for heat transfer in reversing shear flow (Pedley 1976).The steady flow analyses showed that in our experiments axial diffusion is only of minor importance but that for the lower Péclet numbers (< 104) three-dimensional effects, like tangential diffusion, may not be neglected. A similar result is found for the oscillating case. A fair agreement is found between experimental and numerical data during flow acceleration, but during flow reversal remarkable (about 15%) deviations are found. The observed insensitivity of the transducer during flow reversal is quite well predicted by Pedley's model. Finally, the performance of the probe may be improved somewhat by a decrease in cathode length and cathode—anode distance.