EXAMINATION OF THE BI-DIRECTIONAL VELOCITY PROBE USED IN FLAMES

The bi-directional probe has been used in combustion environments to measure localized flame velocities. The device measures the pressure difference between a closed forward-facing cavity, and a closed rearward-facing cavity. Each device must be experimentally calibrated to determine the "amplification factor," which is unity if the measured differential pressures match Bernoulli's equation. It is hypothesized that the probe design disrupts the flow, creating turbulence and irreversibilities, resulting in measured pressure differences. This study uses computational fluid dynamics, particle image velocimetry, and flow visualization techniques to examine the flow field around the probe, as well as an experimental study exploring the impact of minor changes in probe design on differential pressure measurements for velocity calculations.