Measurement of the skin friction associated with turbulent flows in air and water using SAW devices

V. V. Varadan, Y. R. Roh, B. Shankar, V. K. Varadan

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Shear stress measurement under dynamic loading by a low-frequency SAW (surface acoustic wave) sensor placed in a water channel with a fully developed turbulent flow and in an air flow generated by an electric fan is discussed. The SAW sensors used in the flow facility were fully calibrated for both shear stress and normal stress measurements, and hence, by measuring shifts in the oscillator frequency under flow conditions, actual values of the stress were obtained. The measured values show agreement with conventional intrusive measurement schemes. By using an appropriately sized SAW device and adjusting the frequency of operation, any spatial scale of the turbulence features can be characterized. For subsonic flows or for features changing at rates lower than the SAW oscillator frequencies, the temporal fluctuations can be measured in real time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303-306
Number of pages4
JournalUltrasonics Symposium Proceedings
Volume1
StatePublished - 1990
EventProceedings of the IEEE 1990 Ultrasonics Symposium - Honolulu, HI, USA
Duration: 4 Dec 19907 Dec 1990

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