Aero-Mechanical Measurement of Vorticity in Fluid Flow

A sensor has been designed, built, and tested, which will measure streamwise vorticity in low speed air flows. The Vorticimeter uses drag elements, as opposed to the flat plate lifting vanes used by other investigators. The theory of operation and probe construction details are presented. Two different test flows are used to exemplify the probes utility. Results are presented for comparison of predicted and measured meter spin speed, and a check made on the calibration factor for one of the flow cases. Further work is needed to produce a calibration for the probe over a range of circulation strengths, as well as to investigate the mechanisms which produce hub rotation.