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Pitot Tubes
Pitot tubes can be used to indicate fluid flow velocities by measuring the difference between the static and
the dynamic pressures in fluids
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A pitot tube can be used to measure fluid flow velocity by converting the kinetic energy in a fluid flow to potential energy.

The principle is based on the Bernoulli Equation where each term of the equation can be interpreted as pressure

p + 1/2 v2 + h = constant along a streamline (1)

where

p = static pressure (relative to the moving fluid) (Pa)

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 = density (kg/m 3 )

v = flow velocity (m/s)

= g = specific weight (N/m 3 )

g = acceleration of gravity (m/s2 )

h = elevation height (m)

Each term of the equation has the dimension force per unit area N/m 2 (Pa) - or in imperial units lb/ft2 (psi).

Static Pressure
The first term - p - is the static pressure. It is static relative to the moving fluid and can be measured through a flat opening in parallel to the flow.

Dynamic Pressure
The second term - 1/2 v2 - is called the dynamic pressure.

Hydrostatic Pressure
The third term - h - is called the hydrostatic pressure. It represent the pressure due to change in elevation.

Stagnation Pressure
Since the Bernoulli Equation states that the energy along a streamline is constant, (1) can be modified to

p1 + 1/2 v1 2 + h1

= p2 + 1/2 v2 2 + h2

= constant along the streamline (2)

where

suffix1 is a point in the free flow upstream

suffix2 is the stagnation point where the velocity in the flow is zero

Flow Velocity
In a measuring point we regard the hydrostatic pressure as a constant where h1 = h2 - and this part can be eliminated. Since v2 is zero, (2) can be
modified to:

p1 + 1/2 v1 2 = p2 (3)

or
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 v1 = [2 (p2 - p1 ) / ] 1/2 (4)

where

p2 - p1 = dp (differential pressure)

With (4) it's possible to calculate the flow velocity in point 1 - the free flow upstream - if we know the differential pressure difference dp = p2 - p1
and the density of the fluid.

Pitot Tube
The pitot tube is a simple and convenient instrument to measure the difference between static, total and dynamic pressure (or head).

The head - h - (or pressure difference - dp) can be measured and calculated with u-tube manometers, electronic pressure transmitters or similar
instrumentation.

Air Flow - Velocity and Dynamic Head Chart

The charts below are based on air density 1.205 kg/m 3 and water density 1000 kg/m 3 .

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 Air Flow - Velocity and Dynamic Head Chart (pdf)

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 Water Flow - Velocity and Dynamic Head Chart

Water Flow - Velocity and Dynamic Head Chart (pdf)

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Related Topics
Fluid Flow Meters - Flow metering basics - Orifice, Venturi, Flow Nozzles, Pitot Tubes, Target, Variable Area, Positive Displacement,
Turbine, Vortex, Electromagnetic, Ultrasonic Doppler, Ultrasonic Time-of-travel, Mass Coriolis, Mass Thermal, Weir V-notch, Flume Parshall
and Sluice Gate flow meters and more

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Related Documents
Velocity Head - Dynamic pressure and velocity head
U-Tube Manometer - The inclined and vertical u-tube manometers are inexpensive and common in the differential pressure
measurement with flow meters like pitot tubes, orifices and nozzles
Dynamic Pressure - Dynamic pressure is the kinetic energy per unit volume of a fluid
Density, Specific Weight and Specific Gravity - An introduction to density, specific weight and specific gravity - formulas with examples
Energy and Hydraulic Grade Line - The hydraulic grade and the energy line are graphical presentations of the Bernoulli equation
Bernoulli Equation - Conservation of energy - non-viscous, incompressible fluid in steady flow
Orifice, Nozzle and Venturi Flow Rate Meters - The orifice, nozzle and venturi flow rate meters use the Bernoulli Equation to calculate
the fluid flow rate using pressure difference through obstructions in the flow

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Pitot tube
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Hooperbloob (talk | contribs) at 18:30, 2 May 2016. The present address (URL) is a
Main page permanent link to this version.
Contents
Featured content (diff) Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision (diff)
Current events
Random article See also: Pitot-static system
Donate to Wikipedia
A pitot (/pito/ PEE-toh) tube is a pressure measurement instrument used to measure
Wikipedia store
fluid flow velocity. The pitot tube was invented by the French engineer Henri Pitot in the
Interaction early 18th century[1] and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by
Help
French scientist Henry Darcy.[2] It is widely used to determine the airspeed of an
About Wikipedia
aircraft, water speed of a boat, and to measure liquid, air and gas flow velocities in
Community portal
Recent changes
industrial applications. The pitot tube is used to measure the local flow velocity at a
Contact page given point in the flow stream and not the average flow velocity in the pipe or conduit.[3]

Tools Contents [hide]

What links here
1 Theory of operation
Related changes
2 Operation
Upload file
Special pages 3 Industry applications
4 See also Aircraft use pitot tubes to measure
Permanent link
airspeed. The example, from an Airbus A380,
Page information 5 References
combines a pitot tube (right) with a static port
Wikidata item 6 External links and an angle-of-attack vane (left). Air-flow is
Cite this page right to left.

Print/export
Create a book
Theory of operation [ edit ]

Download as PDF The basic pitot tube consists of a tube pointing directly into the fluid flow. As this tube
Printable version
contains fluid, a pressure can be measured; the moving fluid is brought to rest
In other projects (stagnates) as there is no outlet to allow flow to continue. This pressure is the
Wikimedia Commons
With PDFmyURL anyone can convert entire websites to PDF!
 Wikimedia Commons stagnation pressure of the fluid, also known as the total pressure or (particularly in
Languages aviation) the pitot pressure.

The measured stagnation pressure cannot itself be used to determine the fluid flow
Bosanski
velocity (airspeed in aviation). However, Bernoulli's equation states:
Catal
etina Stagnation pressure = static pressure + dynamic pressure
Dansk
Which can also be written
Deutsch
Espaol

Franais
Gaeilge Solving that for flow velocity:

Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia Types of pitot tubes
Italiano

NOTE: The above equation applies only to fluids that can be treated as incompressible.
Ltzebuergesch
Liquids are treated as incompressible under almost all conditions. Gases under certain
Magyar
Nederlands
conditions can be approximated as incompressible. See Compressibility.
where:
Norsk bokml
Norsk nynorsk
is flow velocity to be measured in m/s;
Polski is stagnation or total pressure in pascals;
Portugus is static pressure in pascals;
Romn
and is fluid density in .

The dynamic pressure, then, is the difference between the stagnation pressure and the
Slovenina Pitot tube on Kamov Ka-26 helicopter
static pressure. The dynamic pressure is then determined using a diaphragm inside an
Slovenina
enclosed container. If the air on one side of the diaphragm is at the static pressure, and
Srpskohrvatski /
the other at the stagnation pressure, then the deflection of the diaphragm is proportional to the dynamic pressure.
Suomi In aircraft, The static pressure is generally measured using the static ports on the side of the fuselage. The dynamic pressure
Svenska
measured can be used to determine the indicated airspeed of the aircraft. The diaphragm arrangement described above is typically

Trke
contained within the airspeed indicator, which converts the dynamic pressure to an airspeed reading by means of mechanical
levers.
Ting Vit Instead of separate pitot and static ports, a pitot-static tube (also called a Prandtl tube) may be employed, which has a second tube

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coaxial with the pitot tube with holes on the sides, outside the direct airflow, to measure the static pressure.[4]

Edit links

If a liquid column manometer is used to measure the pressure difference , or ,

where:

is the height difference of the columns in meters.

is the density of the liquid in the manometer;
g is the acceleration of gravity in

Therefore

Operation [ edit ]

Pitot tubes on aircraft commonly have heating elements called pitot heat to prevent the tube from becoming clogged with ice. The
failure of these systems can have catastrophic consequences, as in the case of Austral Lneas Areas Flight 2553, Birgenair Flight
301 (investigators suspected that some kind of insect could have created a nest inside the pitot tube: the prime suspect is the black
and yellow mud dauber wasp), Northwest Airlines Flight 6231, Aeroper Flight 603 (blocked static port), and of one X-31.[5] The
French air safety authority BEA said that pitot tube icing was a contributing factor in the crash of Air France Flight 447 into the
Atlantic Ocean.[6] In 2008 Air Carabes reported two incidents of pitot tube icing malfunctions on its A330s.[7]

Industry applications [ edit ]

In industry, the flow velocities being measured are often those flowing in ducts and
tubing where measurements by an anemometer would be difficult to obtain. In these
kinds of measurements, the most practical instrument to use is the pitot tube. The pitot
tube can be inserted through a small hole in the duct with the pitot connected to a U-
tube water gauge or some other differential pressure gauge for determining the flow
velocity inside the ducted wind tunnel. One use of this technique is to determine the
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 volume of air that is being delivered to a conditioned space.

The fluid flow rate in a duct can then be estimated from:

Volume flow rate (cubic feet per minute) = duct area (square feet) flow
velocity (feet per minute) Pitot tube from an F/A-18

Volume flow rate (cubic meters per second) = duct area (square meters) flow
velocity (meters per second)

In aviation, airspeed is typically measured in knots.

In weather stations with high wind speeds, the pitot tube is modified to create a special
type of anemometer called pitot tube static anemometer.[8]

See also [ edit ]

Air data boom Deicing Piezometer

Altimeter Flow measurement Pitot-static system
Weather instruments at Mount
Annubar Gyrocompass Position error Washington Observatory. Pitot tube static
Anti-icing Icing conditions Stagnation pressure anemometer is on the right.

Atmospheric icing Kiel probe True airspeed

Calibrated airspeed Mach number

References [ edit ]

Notes
1. ^ Pitot, Henri (1732). "Description d'une machine pour mesurer la vitesse des eaux courantes et le sillage des vaisseaux" (PDF) .
Histoire de l'Acadmie royale des sciences avec les mmoires de mathmatique et de physique tirs des registres de cette Acadmie:
363376. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
2. ^ Darcy, Henry (1858). "Note relative quelques modifications introduire dans le tube de Pitot" (PDF) . Annales des Ponts et
Chausses: 351359. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
3. ^ Geankoplis, C.J. (2003). Transport processes and separation process principles (includes unit operations) (4th ed.). New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
4. ^ "How Aircraft Instruments Work." Popular Science, March 1944, pp. 116.
5. ^ NASA Dryden news releases. (1995)
6. ^ "Training flaws exposed in Rio-Paris crash report" . Reuters. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
7. ^ Daly, Kieran (11 June 2009). "Air Caraibes Atlantique memo details pitot icing incidents" . Flight International. Retrieved 19 February
With PDFmyURL anyone can convert entire websites to PDF!
 2012.
8. ^ "Instrumentation: Pitot Tube Static Anemometer, Part 1" . Mount Washington Observatory. Retrieved 14 July 2014.

Bibliography

Kermode, A.C. (1996) [1972]. Mechanics of Flight. Barnard, R.H. (Ed.) and Philpott, D.R. (Ed.) (10th ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 6367. ISBN 0-
582-23740-8.
Pratt, Jeremy M. (2005) [1997]. The Private Pilot's Licence Course: Principles of Flight, Aircraft General Knowledge, Flight Performance and
Planning (3rd ed.). gen108gen111. ISBN 1-874783-23-3.
Tietjens, O.G. (1934). Applied Hudro- and Aeromechanics, based on lectures of L. Prandtl, Ph.D. Dove Publications, Inc. pp. 226239.
ISBN 0-486-60375-X.
Saleh, J.M. (2002). Fluid Flow Handbook. McGraw-Hill Professional.

External links [ edit ]

3D animation of the Pitot Tube Differential Pressure Flow Measuring Principle

Wikimedia Commons has
How 18th Century Technology Could Down an Airliner (wired.com) media related to Pitot tube.

v t e Flight instruments [hide]

Pitot-static Altimeter Airspeed indicator Machmeter Variometer

Gyroscopic Attitude indicator Heading indicator Horizontal situation indicator Turn and slip indicator Turn coordinator Turn indicator

Course deviation indicator Horizontal situation indicator Inertial navigation system Magnetic compass Satellite navigation SIGI
Navigational

Related topics Air data inertial reference unit EFIS Glass cockpit Primary flight display V speeds Yaw string

Categories: Flow meters Aircraft instruments Speed sensors Measuring instruments French inventions

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