Multi-hole probes can simultaneously measure the velocity and direction of a flow field, obtain the distribution of the flow field in a three-dimensional space, and obtain the vortex information in the flow field. Moreover, a multi-hole probe needs to be calibrated while in use; therefore, a three-coordinate, multi-directional rotatable testing system, which can measure the flow field at any position and at any angle, was designed herein. A hemispherical seven-hole probe was calibrated with this test system, and the flow field around cylinders of different diameters was measured to obtain the pressure distribution and vortex shedding frequency. Furthermore, the designed test system's ability to perform a multi-angle and multi-azimuth testing during the calibration of a multi-hole probe was verified. Simultaneously, through data mining of the multi-hole probe, vortices were measured, and periodic vortices were detected.
Keywords: flow around a cylinder; multi-hole probe; test system; vortex; wind tunnel experiment.