Experimental investigation of near-wall effects on hot-wire measurements

Abstract

Hot-wire anemometry is a well-established measuring technique in modern fluid mechanics and is widely used to study laminar and turbulent flows. However, unsolved problems still exist when measurements are carried out close to heat-conducting or heat-insulating walls. Additional heat losses occur because of the presence of the wall that are usually not accounted for in the calibration of the wire. Because of this, erroneous fluid velocity measurements result with hot wires if the presence of the wall is not taken into account. The present paper investigates the effect that the wall material has on these additional heat losses from hot wires for walls of different heat conductivities. Similarity analysis of various aspects of the problem, verified by experimental and numerical results, is presented for wall materials of different heat conductivities, and the results are compared with available data in the literature. The data confirm the expected increase in heat losses with increasing wall heat conductivity. For heat-insulating materials the authors' results show that a wall-thickness influence exists. Additional data are provided to show that the heat loss from hot wires increases with increasing wire overheating, and the influence of the wire diameter is also clarified.