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The response of a propeller anemometer to turbulent flow with the mean wind vector perpendicular to the axis of rotation

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Abstract

The system transfer function ¦H(v)¦2 at frequencyv (units of Hz) for a vertical velocity propeller anemometer in a statistically stationary and horizontally homogeneous turbulent flow is determined from: (1) experimental estimates of propeller velocity spectra; and (2) estimates of Eulerian vertical velocity spectra based on the hypothesis that degradation of the input vertical velocity Fourier components occurs in the inertial subrange. The experimental estimates of ¦H(v)¦2 were adequately summarized with the mathematical expression for the system transfer function of a first-order system with parameterT which has units of time and is analogous to the ‘time constant’ of a horizontal velocity propeller anemometer. Dimensional analysis techniques and the Monin-Obukhov similarity hypothesis were used to construct a model for the system parameterT which yielded the result thatσ w /D 1 α (σ w /ū)1/3, whereσ w ,ū andD 1 denote the standard deviation of the input vertical velocity fluctuations, the horizontal mean wind speed, and the diameter of the propeller, respectively. The system parameterT is interpreted in terms of the time required for the propeller velocity statistics to become asymptotically independent of time upon being released from rest in a statistically stationary turbulent flow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center, 35812, Ala., USA

    George H. Fichtl & Prem Kumar

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  1. George H. Fichtl
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  2. Prem Kumar
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Currently on leave of absence from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India.

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Fichtl, G.H., Kumar, P. The response of a propeller anemometer to turbulent flow with the mean wind vector perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 6, 363–379 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02137673

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02137673

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