Velocimeter

Article By:

Tavoularis, Stavros Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottowa, Canada.

Last reviewed:August 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.802710

An instrument that measures the velocity of a flowing liquid or gas, usually understood to be the average velocity of fluid within a relatively small measuring volume. Velocimeters are distinct from flow meters, which measure spatially averaged velocity, or flow rate, across the cross section of a duct or channel. Depending on the nature of the flow and the objective of the measurement, a velocimeter may be used to measure a time-dependent flow velocity or a time-averaged value. Another characteristic of a velocimeter is its spatial resolution, namely the size of its measuring volume. Some velocimeters measure flow velocity in both magnitude and direction, whereas others only resolve a velocity component in a particular direction or plane. The term anemometer is sometimes used as synonymous to velocimeter, although, strictly speaking, the former term should apply only to instruments that measure air velocity. See also: Flow measurement

The content above is only an excerpt.