SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MEASURING 2- AND 3-DIMENSIONAL VELOCITY VECTOR USING CROSS-CORRELATION VELOCIMETRY

• US 20110209541A1
• Filed: 01/31/2011
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Original Assignee: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Inventors: Rockwell, Scott, Rangwala, Ali S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,288,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/204.24
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 5/001 Full-field flow measurement, e.g. determining flow velocity and direction in a whole region at the same time, flow visualisation
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 5/10 by measuring thermal variables

Abstract

A velocity probe capable of measuring all the three components of a velocity vector simultaneously by correlating data from three or more thermocouples is shown and described.

Claims

1. A measurement system comprising:

a plurality of thermocouples;

said plurality of thermocouples being located in a support component;

said plurality of thermocouples comprising;

at least three groups of thermocouples;

thermocouples from each group of said at least three groups being located such that at a distance between at least one member of one group and at least one member of another group is selected to enable measurement of temperature/flow field features of a first predetermined characteristic length; and

at least one thermocouples surrounded by said at least three groups of thermocouples;

a third distance between said at least one thermocouples and at least one thermocouple from each of said at least three groups being selected to enable measurement of temperature/flow field features of a second predetermined characteristic length.

2. The measurement system of claim 1 further comprising:

a velocity determining component;

said velocity determining component obtaining at least one cross-correlation between measurements from two thermocouples from said plurality of thermocouples and determining at least one characteristic flow velocity from said at least one cross-correlation.

3. The measurement system of claim 1 wherein said support component is an insulator having a receptacle for each thermocouple.

4. The measurement system of claim 3 wherein said insulator comprises recrystallized alumina ceramic.

5. A method for determining velocity of flow, the method comprising:

obtaining at least one cross-correlation between measurements of temperature in a flow field; and

determining from said at least one cross-correlation a characteristic flow velocity.