MAE 589 Introduction to Experimental Fluid

Mechanics
Course Description:
Offered every Spring semester
This course educates graduate students in the design of experiments
and basis for model testing and scaling laws; uncertainty and error
analysis in selecting measurement systems for experiments;
qualitative and quantitative technologies for obtaining measurements;
analysis, post-processing and visualization techniques of data.

Pre-Requisites:
Textbook: TBD
Holman, Eperimental Methods for Engineers, McGraw-Hill
Doebelin, Measurement Systems: Application and Design, McGrawHill
Tropea, Yarin and Foss, Handbook of Experimental Fluid Mechanics,
Springer
Syllabus Prepared By/Date: Dr. Kenneth Granlund

Course Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the relevant variables to study and correctly scale an

experiment according to dimensionless parameters (Mach,
Reynolds, Froude, Strouhal).
2. Assess required uncertainty of experiment variables and
measurement system propagation when propagated to
uncertainty in final result.
3. Understand the static and dynamic limitations of common
measurement systems, as well as methods for dynamic
compensation.
4. Gain awareness of different state-of-the-art intrusive and nonintrusive measurement systems.
5. Understand post-processing techniques and presentation
methods of data.

Topics Covered:

1. Similitude and scale modeling

a. Buckingham- theorem
b. geometric, kinematic and dynamic similitude
2. Measurement accuracy and uncertainty.
a. Confidence interval

3.
4.
5.

6.
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6.

b. Uncertainty propagation
Calibration
Signal conditioning
Measuring devices
a. Dimensional and motion
b. Force and torque
c. Pressure and sound
d. Temperature and heat-flux
e. Flow
f. Intrusive and non-intrusive measurement systems
g. Discrete and continuous measurements
Qualitative and quantitative measurements
Digital signal post-processing
a. Sampling
b. Reconstruction of signals
c. Filtering
d. Regression analysis
e. Auto- and cross-correlation
f. Power spectra
g. Chauvenets Criterion for data outliers.
Data reduction and presentation