MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Aerospace Engineering

AE 341 AERODYNAMICS I
Fall Semester 2020-2021

MIDTERM EXAM

1. (30 minutes) Hot-wire anemometry is a measurement

technique that is used for measuring the velocity of
fluids. The working principle of this technique can be
roughly explained as follows: an electrically-heated
wire cools down under the effect of fluid flow (typically
air). The energy balance between the heating and
cooling of the wire can be considered as a function of
fluid velocity because the dominant heat transfer
mechanism is convection due to fluid flow. Hence, it can
be stated that convective heat transfer coefficient is
ℎ = 𝑓(𝜌, 𝑉, 𝐷, 𝜇, 𝑘) where 𝜌 is the fluid density, 𝑉 is the
fluid velocity, 𝐷 is the diameter of the wire, 𝜇 is the
dynamic viscosity of fluid and 𝑘 is the thermal
conductivity of fluid. Typical SI units for ℎ and 𝑘 are [𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 𝐾] and [𝑊 ⁄𝑚𝐾], respectively. Using
the Buckingham-PI theorem, determine the non-dimensional parameters relevant to this problem.

Hint: In addition to three fundamental dimensions that are generally used in mechanics, there is an
additional dimension you should take into account in this question.