A user-friendly Pitot probe data reduction Excel-Refprop-Routine for non-ideal gas flow applications

This contribution presents a user-friendly data reduction routine for Pitot probes based on widely available software with a fluid properties interface. The data reduction process rests on the general balance equations and the fluid database and calculation program REFPROP by NIST. In the corresponding calculation sheet, the user can easily select the fluid and manually or automatically insert the probe data and stagnation conditions of the measurement. A robust algorithm directly calculates the freestream Mach number and other flow and thermodynamic quantities. The new Pitot probe data reduction routine's accuracy is assessed through several test cases, including the subsonic and supersonic flow of dry air, Novec 649, and siloxane MM in the dilute and dense gas regime. For compressible non-ideal gas flows, it is found the classical Rayleigh-Pitot equation is systematically in error even in the dilute gas regime where relative deviations of more than 10 % were noticed. In the dense gas regime, the Rayleigh-Pitot equation fails dramatically in calculating the freestream Mach number, and errors larger than 60 % were observed.     «

This contribution presents a user-friendly data reduction routine for Pitot probes based on widely available software with a fluid properties interface. The data reduction process rests on the general balance equations and the fluid database and calculation program REFPROP by NIST. In the corresponding calculation sheet, the user can easily select the fluid and manually or automatically insert the probe data and stagnation conditions of the measurement. A robust algorithm directly calculates the...     »