Strut interference effects on pitot tube velocity measurements

The possible impact of the presence of the strut portion of a Pitot tube on the efficacy of the tube as a velocity-measuring device has been evaluated by numerical simulation. At sufficiently low Reynolds numbers, there is a possibility that the precursive effects of the strut could alter the flow field adjacent to the static taps on the body of the Pitot tube and might even affect the impact pressure measured at the nose. The simulations were performed in dimensionless form with the Reynolds number being the only prescribed parameter, but the dimensions were taken from a short-shanked Pitot tube. Over the Reynolds number range from 1500 to 4000, a slight effect of the strut was identified. However, the variation due to the presence of the shank of the velocity measured by the Pitot tube operating in that range of Reynolds numbers was only 1.5%.