Research Article Hot-Wire Calibration at Low Velocities: Revisiting the Vortex Shedding Method

Copyright © 2013 Sohrab S. Sattarzadeh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The necessity to calibrate hot-wire probes against a known velocity causes problems at low velocities, due to the inherent inaccuracy of pressure transducers at low differential pressures. The vortex shedding calibration method is in this respect a recommended technique to obtain calibration data at low velocities, due to its simplicity and accuracy. However, it has mainly been applied in a low and narrow Reynolds number range known as the laminar vortex shedding regime. Here, on the other hand, we propose to utilize the irregular vortex shedding regime and show where the probe needs to be placed with respect to the cylinder in order to obtain unambiguous calibration data. 1