Flow distortion by supporting structures

During the 1976 International Turbulence Comparison Experiment, a number of participants found significant values of upflow over the horizontal support arm of the sensor used. For example, the Japanese sonic anemometer reported an average upflow of 2.4 °. By means of model experiments and fitting to a potential flow solution, it is predicted that the horizontal support would introduce an upflow of 0.5 °. Further model experiments with a full sonic anemometer model plus associated structures predicted an upflow of 2.2 °, in reasonable agreement with the observed result. The need for extreme care in the exposure of turbulence sensors is emphasized. The theory is capable of predicting the error incurred in the various turbulence parameters, such as uw, and these error equations bear a close similarity to those normally used in applying a tilt correction.