Pitot Tube

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Pitot Tube

Pitot tubes are used on aircraft as speedometers. The actual tube on the aircraft is
around 10 inches (25 centimeters) long with a 1/2-inch (1 centimeter) diameter.
Several small holes are drilled around the outside of the tube and a center hole is
drilled down the axis of the tube. The outside holes are connected to one side of a
device called a pressure transducer. The center hole in the tube is kept separate
from the outside holes and is connected to the other side of the transducer. The
transducer measures the difference in pressure in the two groups of tubes by
measuring the strain in a thin element using an electronic strain gauge. The pitot tube
is mounted on the aircraft so that the center tube is always pointed in the direction of
travel and the outside holes are perpendicular to the center tube. (On some airplanes
the pitot tube is put on a longer boom sticking out of the nose of the plane or the
wing.)
Fig. Schematic drawing of pitot tube
Difference in Static and Total Pressure

Since the outside holes are perpendicular to the direction of travel, these tubes are
pressurized by the local random component of the air velocity. The pressure in these
tubes is the static pressure (ps) discussed in Bernoulli's equation. The center tube,
however, is pointed in the direction of travel and is pressurized by both the random
and the ordered air velocity. The pressure in this tube is the total pressure (pt)
discussed in Bernoulli's equation. The pressure transducer measures the difference
in total and static pressure.

measurement = pt - ps

Solve for Velocity


With the difference in pressures measured and knowing the local value of air density
(r) from pressure and temperature measurements, we can use Bernoulli's equation to
give us the velocity. Bernoulli's equation states that the static pressure plus one half
the density times the velocity (V) squared is equal to the total pressure.

ps + .5 * r * V ^2 = pt

Solving for V:

V ^2 = [2 * {pt - ps}] / r

There are, however, some practical limitations:

1. If the velocity is low, the difference in pressures is very small and hard to
accurately measure with the transducer. Errors in the instrument could be
greater than the measurement! So, pitot tubes don't work very well for very low
velocities.
2. If the velocity is very high (supersonic), we've violated the assumptions of
Bernoulli's equation and the measurement is wrong again. At the front of the
tube, a shock wave appears that will change the total pressure. There are
corrections for the shock wave that can be applied to allow us to use pitot tubes
for high-speed aircraft.

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