In their recent topical review, Nabavi and Siddiqui (Meas. Sci. Technol. 2010 21 042002) recommended the use of hot-wire anemometry for velocity measurements in pulsating flows, especially at high frequency. This recommendation is misleading. The procedures invoked by these authors are valid only for small-amplitude fluctuations, which are of little interest for pulsating flows. When large-ampl...

The ability of a thermal anemometry system to accurately measure unsteady fluid velocity depends on the electrical control system as well as the thermal properties of the sensor. The present work is a numerical study of the thermal transient response of a hot-wire. A conventional constant temperature anemometer with an ideal feedback amplifier as well as a pulse width modulated system were used...

A novel anemometer was designed and implemented for simultaneous measurement of velocity and temperature in air flows with a single hot wire probe. The principle of periodically varying the overheat ratio of the wire was selected and applied through a parameterizable electronic chain. The specific methods developed for the calibration procedure and the signal processing are explained. The accur...

The flapping wings of insects and birds induce a strong flow over their body during flight. Although this flow influences the sensory biology and physiology of a flying animal, there are very little data on the characteristics of this self-generated flow field or its biological consequences. A model proposed in the companion paper estimated the induced flow over flying insects. In this study, w...