Pitot and Pitot-Static Probes

Pitot probes (also called Pitot tubes) and Pitot-static probes are widely used for flow speed measurement.

A Pitot probe is just a tube with a pressure tap at the stagnation point that measures stagnation pressure, while
a Pitot-static probe has both a stagnation pressure tap and several circumferential static pressure taps and it
measures both stagnation and static pressures

(a) A Pitot probe measures stagnation pressure at the nose of the probe, while (b) a Pitot-static probe
measures both stagnation pressure and static pressure, from which the flow speed is calculated.
For incompressible flow with sufficiently high velocities (so that the frictional effects between points 1 and 2 are
negligible), the Bernoulli equation is applicable and is expressed as

P1 V12 P2 V2 2
  z1    z2
ρg 2 g ρg 2 g

z1  z2 V1  0

2  P1  P2 
Pitot formula: V
ρ

The Pitot-static probe is a simple, inexpensive, and highly reliable device since it has
no moving parts. It also causes very small pressure drop and usually does not disturb
the flow appreciably. However, it is important that it be properly aligned with the
flow (typically within ± 10o) to avoid significant errors that may be caused by
misalignment.
 Subsonic Compressible Flow
V
M
In compressible flow theory, one must work with the Mach number M, defined as the c
ratio of the flow velocity, V to the sonic velocity, c

When a Pitot tube is exposed to a subsonic compressible flow (0.3 < M < 1), fluid traveling
along the streamline that ends on the Pitot tube's stagnation point is continuously
compressed.

If we assume that the flow decelerated and compressed from the free-stream state
isentropically, the velocity-pressure relationship for the Pitot tube is,

  k 1 
 k  

 stagnation   
 1
2k Pstatic P cp
V   where k 
k  1 ρstatic  P  cv
  static  

If the free-stream density ρstatic is not available, then one can solve for the Mach number of the flow instead,

  k 1 
  
V 2  Pstagnation  k   k .Pstatic
M    1 where c   kRT
c k  1  Pstatic   ρstatic
 
Supersonic Compressible Flow
For supersonic flow (M > 1), the streamline terminating at the Pitot tube's stagnation point crosses the bow shock in
front of the Pitot tube. Fluid traveling along this streamline is first decelerated nonisentropically to a subsonic speed and
then decelerated isentropically to zero velocity at the stagnation point.

The flow velocity is an implicit function of the Pitot tube pressures,

 k 
 k 1 
k 1  2    1 
 k 1 
M
 2  k  1 2   k  1 M 
2 2  
Pstagnation
  M  
Pstatic
 2k k  1
 1 
 k 1 
 
2  4 kM 2
 2   
k  1
 k  1 M 2

k  1 

Note that this formula is valid only for Reynolds numbers Re > 400 (using the probe
diameter as the characteristic length). Below that limit, the isentropic assumption
breaks down.
Thermal (Hot-Wire and Hot-Film) Anemometers

Thermal anemometers involve an electrically heated sensor and utilize a thermal effect to measure flow velocity.

Thermal anemometers have extremely small sensors, and thus they can be used to measure the instantaneous
velocity at any point in the flow without appreciably disturbing the flow.

They can measure velocities in liquids and gases accurately over a wide range—from a few centimeters to over a
hundred meters per second.

A thermal anemometer is called a hot-wire anemometer if the

sensing element is a wire, and a hot-film anemometer if the sensor
is a thin metallic film (less than 0.1 µm thick) mounted usually on a
relatively thick ceramic support having a diameter of about 50 µm.
The sensor is maintained at a constant temperature during operation, and thus its thermal energy content remains
constant. The conservation of energy principle requires that the electrical Joule heating Welect  I 2 Rw  E 2 / Rw

Using proper relations for forced convection, the energy balance is expressed by King’s law as
E 2  a  bV n
where E is the voltage, and the values of the constants a, b, and n are calibrated for a given probe. Once the voltage
is measured, this relation gives the flow velocity V directly.

Thermal anemometer probes with single, double, and triple sensors to measure
(a) one-, (b) two-,and (c) 3-D velocity components simultaneously.
 Nuk
I Rw  hA Tw  Ta   I Rw 
2
A Tw  Ta 
2

Forced convection regime, i.e. Re > Gr (0.02 in air) and Re<140

Nu = A + B Ren = A + B Vn ⇒ Nu = A1 + B1 · Ren = A2+ B2 · Vn

I2Rw = E2 = (Tw -Ta)(A + B · Vn)