Hotwire Calibration Equations and Procedures

Variable List:
Eraw = Raw voltage input to the computer from the hotwire. CF = Correction Factor. Ecor = Corrected Voltage after the CF has been applied. TS = Hotwire probe operating temperature.(deg C) Rset = Resistance set into the TSI Model 1056 Resistance Decade. (Ohms) Rcal = Resistance of the hotwire and coaxial cable measured while the probe is in a constant temperature bath.(Ohms) Tcal = Temperature of the constant temperature bath mentioned above. (deg C) R2 T2 = 2nd resistance obtained in a second constant temperature bath.(Ohms) = Temperature of the 2nd constant temperature bath.(deg C)

Ttunnel = Tcal2 = Temperature of the wind tunnel airstream directly behind the probe while it is being calibrated to the tunnel airspeed.(deg C) = Thermal Resistance Coefficient for the Hotwire and attached coaxial cable(units on alpha are Ohm/Ohm/deg C)

Equation List:
=( (R2 - Rcal) / (T2 Tcal)

)/ Rcal

(Eq. 1)

Rset = Rcal. 1 TS

Tcal

(Eq. 2)

CF =

TS TS

Tcal TTunnel

(Eq. 3)

E cor

= E raw2 . ( CF)

(Eq. 4)

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Hotwire Calibration Equations and Procedures

Principle of Operation
The hotwire used here in the SWT and ADWT is a constant temperature hotwire. The hotwire is a small resistance element which is heated and controlled at an elevated temperature. The amount of electrical energy dissipated in the sensor is a measure of the cooling effect of the fluid flowing past the heated sensor. The sensor utilizes a Wheatstone bridge to keep the temperature of the hotwire constant. The hotwire is one resistor in the bridge. Another resistor in the bridge is the control resistance that can be set on the hotwire control box. The Wheatstone bridge balances the 4 resistances in the bridge and therefore keeps the hotwire at constant temperature no matter what the fluid velocity is. The hotwire used in the SWT and ADWT has a 5:1 bridge. Thus the control resistance in the bridge is actually 5 times greater than what is set on the resistance decade on the TSI control box. The value set into the resistance decade is Rset. The value of Rset is selected to operate at a high enough resistance to achieve the operating temperature required (TS). If TS is set high enough (around 250 oC), the hotwire will be insensitive to temperature and very sensitive to velocity. In practice, when the control box (anemometer) is turned on and set to RUN , current flows through the bridge. The amplifier senses any off-balance and feeds back more or less current until the bridge comes back into balance. Thus, since the current changes to balance the resistance back to its original state, the voltage will change (V=IR). This voltage (Eraw) can be calibrated to the velocity of the fluid and the hotwire can then be used to measure the air velocity in the wind tunnel.

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Hotwire Calibration Equations and Procedures

Procedures to calibrate the hotwire in the ADWT
Find the container for the hotwire probe to be used. If there is mark in the top right corner of the label, such as P#1(Probe # 1), P#2 or something to this effect, then skip to the next section and continue on with the calibration. Determining the Thermal Resistance Coefficient() Hotwires will break is touched by the handler or against something. Using extreme caution!!! Attach the hotwire to the probe mounted on the y-z probe in the wind tunnel. Make a constant temperature water bath in a container, 0 oC usually works the best. Set the bath on the floor of the wind tunnel and lower the probe into the bath. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the bath. This temperature is Tcal. Measure the resistance of the probe and the attached cable. Do this by measuring the resistance at the end of the cable that runs in to the TSI control box. This resistance is Rcal. Repeat the above steps at a different temperature(usually very hot) and obtain another temperature and resistance (T2 & R2). After this is done remove the hotwire from the bath and calculate the Thermal Resistance Coefficient () using Eq. 1. If a better accuracy is required, multiple temperature and resistance data points can be taken. Determine the slope of the data and use this for the Thermal Resistance Coefficient ().

Hotwire Calibration If the probe is marked with P#1 or something to this effect in the right hand corner of the label, chances are has already been determined and the hotwire may already have been calibrated and all needed constants may have already been determined. If this is so, there will be a table with all pertinent values on it already. If there is only a value for on this table then continue on with the following procedure.

Attach the hotwire to the y-z probe in the ADWT. Make sure the wire is perpendicular to the airstream. Make sure all the cables are connected correctly to the TSI control box.
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Hotwire Calibration Equations and Procedures

Make sure the switch marked with STANDBY and RUN is set to STANDBY. Set a resistance value of 7 Ohms into the resistance decade controls. Turn the power on to the TSI control box. Setup the ADWT program to enable you to take raw data from the hotwire and also to measure the tunnel Q and tunnel operating temperature. Use the y-z probe controls to center the hotwire in the test section at coordinate (0,0). Set the tunnel speed to 5% RPM and start the tunnel. Ramp the speed up to 60% RPM. Set the switch STANDBY/RUN switch to RUN. Look at the raw data from the hotwire, displayed on the control screen monitor, it should have a value from 4.5 to 4.9 volts. If this is not the case, set the unit to STANDBY and adjust the resistance on the resistance decade until the raw voltage is within this range. Increasing the resistance will increase the raw voltage and decreasing the resistance will decrease the raw voltage. [Make sure the switch is set to STANDBY. Failing to do so will destroy the hotwire]. After the resistance is properly set, record this value as Rset.

The probe can now be calibrated. Setup a data file in the wind tunnel control program and set the tunnel speed to 5%. Take a data point at 5% increments up to but not exceeding 60% of tunnel operating RPM. [Any faster than 60% RPM may break the hotwire.] Determining the Calibration Equation Open the above data file in Excel, using tab delimiting. Find the columns marked Dynamic Pressure, Hot Wire Raw Data, and Tunnel Temp Raw Data. Average the tunnel temps and this value will be recorded as Tcal2. Determine the tunnel Calibrated Airspeed from the Dynamic Pressure and graph airspeed vs. hotwire raw voltage. Add a 3rd order polynomial trendline and equation to this graph. This will be the calibration equation. Data to be recorded and entered into the ADWT operating program To run the ADWT operating program correctly, the following values need to be entered into the program:
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Hotwire Calibration Equations and Procedures

The calibration coefficients from the above equation. Rset Rcal Tcal Tcal2

The computer uses equations 2,3 & 4 to calculate Ts to correct the hotwire voltage for changes in tunnel operating temperature. The hotwire is now ready for use.

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