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Hot-wire anemometers are most commonly used in measuring hood capture velocities due to their accuracy and convenience. But it was questionable that the anemometers being used in the field are accurate enough for the purpose of measurements. To answer this question, a calibration wind tunnel was newly devised and tested. Subsequently, 53 hot-wire anemometers being currently used in the field were tested to evaluate the accuracy of anemometers. The average error was 16.93% while the average errors in the low (0.5∼5m/s) and high (5∼20m/s) velocity range were 17.40% and 16.45%, respectively. Most of anemometers underestimated the true velocities. It might be due to the contamination of hot-wire, resulting in the slow heat transfer between the sensor and air flow. Astonishingly, 16 of 53 anemometers were out of order due to the malfunctioning of zero adjustment control, power supply, display panel and sensor. It is desirable to calibrate periodically and clean the sensor after using in the dirty environment.
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