Hot-wire filament vibration generated by fluctuating aerodynamic loads is found to occur in turbulent flow fields. The motion of the filament relative to the stream can cause errors in the indicated velocity fluctuations. Analysis and experiment show that these errors are probably serious only when the velocity fluctuations are confined within a narrow bandwidth spectrum such as in a Kármán vortex street. Under such conditions the filament goes into a skipping or ‘whirling’ mode of motion and the errors in the velocity perturbation reading are substantial. Errors in normally encountered boundary-layer turbulence are suspected not to be serious but this is not yet certain. A convenient experimental method for detecting these vibrations is outlined.

A study is made of the effect of filament vibration on the direct frequency-response test for hot-wire systems. These tests include shaking the probe at high frequencies in a steady stream and the Kármán vortex street method.