Use of sonic anemometry for the study of confined swirling flows in large industrial units

AbstractThis work explores the methodology and errors involved in using a commercial sonic anemometer to study confined industrial swirling air flows, such as those in large cyclones or dryers in the order of hundreds of m3. Common sources of uncertainty in time-of-flight techniques and multiple-path anemometry are evaluated and corrections and methodology guidelines are proposed to deal with issues typical of full scale measurement. In particular, this paper focuses on quantifying the error associated with the disruption of the local flow caused by a HS−50 horizontal sonic anemometer under a range of turbulence characteristic of industrial swirl towers. Under the guidelines proposed and the conditions studied here, the presence of the instrument originates a measurement error <1−4% in velocity, <1−3° in direction and