ANALYSIS OF A PRESSURE AVERAGING DEVICE FOR MEASURING AERODYNAMIC FORCES ON A CIRCULAR-CYLINDER

A pneumatic spatial pressure averaging technique for measuring pressur e forces has been analysed and calibrated for measuring steady and flu ctuating forces on a circular cylinder. The technique is based on usin g two manifolds, each with one pressure output and eight inputs that f eed into a small averaging chamber. This method has several advantages over using an array of pressure transducers due to its relative simpl icity and cheapness. The pressure averager's dynamic characteristics a nd its accuracy in averaging pressure are investigated. It is shown to give reliable results for a circular cylinder over a range of Reynold s numbers from 1 x 10(4) to 1.5 x 10(5).