HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A MAJOR INNOVATION IN FLOW MEASURMENT, CALLED HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY, IS PROPOSED FOR MEASURING FLUID VELOCITY. MEASUREMENT OF VELOCITY CHARACTERISTICS IN COMPLEX AND UNSTEADY FLOWS IS A PROBLEM OF GREAT PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE. HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY IS PROPOSED TO EXTEND CURRENT CAPABILITY AND TO PROVIDE INSTANTANEOUS VALES OF FLOW SPEED AND DIRECTION IN THE COMPLETE RANGE FROM SIMPLE, LAMINA FLOWS TO COMPLEX, TURBULENT FLOWS. HOT BLOCK ANEMOMETRY IS AN EXTENSION OF WELL-ESTABLISHED THERMAL ANEMOMETRY AND HAS RESULTED IN PART FROM RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN MICROCOMPUTER AND SURFACE-COATING TECHNOLOGIES. HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY WILL PROVIDE CONTINUOUS AND SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENT OF ALL THREE VELOCITY COMPONENTS IN UNSTEAD FLOWS AND IN A WIDE RANGE OF TURBULENT FLOWS. MEAN AND TURBULENT QUANTITIES OBTAINED WITH HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY SHOULD BE MORE ACCURATE THAN THOSE OBTAINED WITH 5-HOLE IMPACT PROBES OR HOTWIRE ARRAYS AND MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN THOSE OBTAINED WITH LASER VELOCIMETRY. THE PHASE I FEASIBILITY STUDY WOULD PROVIDE A DESIGN, AND AN ASSESSMENT OF MANUFACTURABILITY OF A HOT-BLOCK PROBE. PHASE IIWOULD DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE PROBE, AN ASSOCIATED DATA-ACQUISITON SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE PACKAGE, AND WOULD PROVIDE A COMPLETE PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT. PHASE III WOULD DEVELOP A MARKETABLE PRODUCT, THE HOT-BLOCK ANEMOMETRY SYSTEM AND PROBES, IN PREPARATION FOR COMMERCIAL SALES. THE PROPOSED EFFORT, IF SUCCESSFUL, WOULD PROVIDE AN INNOVATIVE INSTRUMENT AND ESTABLISH TECHNIQUES FOR ITS USE.