High Sensitivity Hot-wire based Wind Velocity Sensor using Co-doped Fiber and Fiber Bragg Grating for use in mining applications

Abstract

In this paper, a mathematical model of the temperature distribution in a fiber-optic version of the familiar ‘hot-wire’ wind velocity sensor has been established and a practical sensor device realized and investigated for use in coal mining applications. The relationship between the dynamic measurement range, the sensitivity, the sensor probe surface heat transfer coefficient and the wind speed (in the region where the sensor probe is located) has been investigated. The veracity of the predicted performance of the fiber-optic hot-wire mathematical model has then been verified by experiment. The sensitivity of the sensor probe to wind velocity was measured across several wind velocity ranges to be ∼1500pm per unit m/s wind velocity (in the range of 0 – 0.5 m/s), ∼330pm per unit m/s in the range 0.5 – 2 m/s and ∼50pm per unit m/s in the range of 2.0 – 4.5 m/s.