Enhancing accuracy of surface wind sensors in wind tunnel Testing: A Physics-Guided neural network calibration approach

Irwin’s surface wind sensor is widely used in wind tunnel testing for urban and environmental aerodynamics studies. However, the conventional physics-based calibration of this sensor could result in reduced measurement accuracy in regions with low flow velocities and high turbulence intensity. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel physics-guided neural network (PGNN) calibration approach, which couples a physics-based calibration model, derived from extended Taylor series expansions of measured wind speed, with an adaptive, data-driven general regression neural network. Sensors are calibrated within the turbulent boundary layer of an empty flat plate, considering both mean and standard deviation of wind velocity measured by high-accuracy thermal anemometry. The accuracy of calibrated sensors is then assessed using a 1:400 benchmark urban model. Experimental results show significant improvement in measurement accuracy, reducing mean absolute percentage error for wind speed standard deviation from 92.3 % with the current model to 9.8 % using PGNN.