Pitot Tubes
PITOT Tubes
The Pitot tube (named after Henri Pitot in 1732) measures a fluid velocity by converting the kinetic energy of the flow into potential energy. The conversion takes place at the stagnation point, located at the Pitot tube entrance (see the schematic below). A pressure higher than the free-stream (i.e. dynamic) pressure results from the kinematic to potential conversion. This "static" pressure is measured by comparing it to the flow's dynamic pressure with a differential manometer.
Cross-section of a Typical Pitot Static Tube
Converting the resulting differential pressure measurement into a fluid velocity depends on the particular fluid flow regime the Pitot tube is measuring. Specifically, one must determine whether the fluid regime is incompressible, subsonic compressible, or supersonic.
The Pitot tube (named after Henri Pitot in 1732) measures a fluid velocity by converting the kinetic energy of the flow into potential energy. The conversion takes place at the stagnation point, located at the Pitot tube entrance (see the schematic below). A pressure higher than the free-stream (i.e. dynamic) pressure results from the kinematic to potential conversion. This "static" pressure is measured by comparing it to the flow's dynamic pressure with a differential manometer.
Cross-section of a Typical Pitot Static Tube
Converting the resulting differential pressure measurement into a fluid velocity depends on the particular fluid flow regime the Pitot tube is measuring. Specifically, one must determine whether the fluid regime is incompressible, subsonic compressible, or supersonic.
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