Effects of Reynolds Number on the Non-Nulling Calibration of a Cone-Type Five-Hole Probe

The effects of Reynolds number on the non-nulling calibration of a typical cone-type five-hole probe have been investigated for the representative Reynolds numbers in turbomachinery. The pitch and yaw angles are changed from −35 degrees to 35 degrees with an angle interval of 5 degrees at six probe Reynolds numbers in range between 6.60 × 10³ and 3.17 × 10⁴. The result shows that not only each calibration coefficient itself but also its Reynolds number dependency is affected significantly by the pitch and yaw angles. The Reynolds-number effects on the pitch- and yaw-angle coefficients are noticeable when the absolute values of the pitch and yaw angles are smaller than 20 degrees. The static-pressure coefficient is sensitive to the Reynolds number nearly all over the pitch- and yaw-angle range. The Reynolds-number effect on the total-pressure coefficient is found remarkable when the absolute values of the pitch and yaw angles are larger than 20 degrees. Through a typical non-nulling reduction procedure, actual reduced values of the pitch and yaw angles, static and total pressures, and velocity magnitude at each Reynolds number are obtained by employing the calibration coefficients at the highest Reynolds number (Re = 3.17 × 10⁴) as input reference calibration data. As a result, it is found that each reduced value has its own unique trend depending on the pitch and yaw angles. Its general tendency is related closely to the variation of the corresponding calibration coefficient with the Reynolds number. Among the reduced values, the reduced total pressure suffers the most considerable deviation from the measured one and its dependency upon the pitch and yaw angles is most noticeable. In this study, the root-mean-square data as well as the upper and lower bounds of the reduced values are reported as a function of the Reynolds number. These data would be very useful in the estimation of the Reynolds-number effects on the non-nulling calibration.