Application of Hot-Wire Anemometry in the High Subsonic Organic Vapor Flow Regime

Hot-wire anemometry (HWA) is a measurement technique which allows for the investigation of highly fluctuating flows. It has been widely used for turbulence studies including turbomachinery flow analysis, but relatively little is reported regarding its application in organic vapor flows. In this contribution, preliminary results are presented of an HWA study conducted in the test section of a closed-loop organic vapor wind tunnel using a constant-temperature-anemometry (CTA) system. The working fluid for this study was the perfluorinated ketone Novec™ 649, but air was also investigated for comparison reasons. Low subsonic up to high subsonic flows (i.e., up to M = 0.7) were considered, and the performance of HWA was assessed by obtaining turbulence intensities, velocity spectra, autocorrelation, and corresponding turbulent length scales. It was demonstrated that HWA is a useful tool for investigating turbulence phenomena in organic vapor flows although the dynamic loads and the wire Reynolds number levels are rather high.