Characterization of the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab Rig using Hot Wires

The objective of this thesis is to apply high frequency flow measurement technique known as hot wire anemometry to characterize the velocity, turbulence intensity and turbulent length scales in the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab Rig. Hot wire anemometry has been widely used to characterize velocities and turbulence levels in different environments and using different calibration and post-processing methodologies. In this work, a precise calibration and post-processing method was developed and successfully applied to the state-of-the-art trisonic Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab wind tunnel. The different experimental setups where the turbulence levels were analyzed were fabricated using modern manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing or water cutting. These techniques increase the complexity of the designs to be tested in wind tunnels. Calibration process was then successfully tested in the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab Rig. Finally, accuracy and sensitivity analysis of the calibration are performed to verify the performance and reliability of the process.