Hot-Wire Anemometry

The book is concerned primarily with the fundamental principles of the hot-wire technique and numerous models describing hot-wire behaviour are examined in detail. A newcomer to the area might find the volume of analytical material daunting but a researcher with some knowledge of the subject should soon come to appreciate the merits of the book. A useful summary appears at the end of each chapter to assist the reader. Dr Perry has been working on this topic for many years and the book is based on his own experience and that of his many diligent and dedicated students. Following the introduction, chapter 2 describes various models for analysing the behaviour of a hot-wire filament under steady and dynamic conditions. The operation of a constant-current hot-wire anemometer for the measurement of fluctuating velocities is explained in chapter 3. This leads on in the next chapter to the use of the constant-current technique for measuring temperature fluctuations. The use of the constant-temperature mode for the measurement of velocity and temperature fluctuations is the subject of chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 7 is devoted to a discussion of the interaction between the thermal and aeroelastic characteristics of hot-wire filaments and illustrates how inaccurate it can be to represent a hot wire by a rigid straight cylinder. The philosophy of hot-wire calibration is discussed in chapter 8, the longest and most interesting chapter in the book. Much emphasis is placed on the dynamic method of the calibration which has become the hallmark of the Melbourne school of hot-wire anemometry. The book concludes with the chapter 'The Ultimate Uncertainty' (the uncertainty is related to the question of whether or not a hot wire faithfully responds to velocity fluctuations over a wide band of frequency). Perry's book is an important contribution to hot-wire anemometry. [P.W. Bearman, Journal of Fluid Mechanics]