Thermistor based, low velocity isothermal, air flow sensor

Abstract

The semiconductor thermistor technology is applied as a flow sensor to measure low isothermal air velocities (<2 ms−1). The sensor is subjected to heating and cooling cycles controlled by a multifunctional timer. In the heating stage, the alternating current of a main AC power supply source guarantees a uniform thermistor temperature distribution. The conditioning circuit assures an adequate increase of the sensors temperature and avoids the thermal disturbance of the flow. The power supply interruption reduces the consumption from the source and extends the sensors life time. In the cooling stage, the resistance variation of the flow sensor is recorded by the measuring chain. The resistive sensor parameters proposed vary significantly and feature a high sensitivity to the flow velocity. With the aid of a computer, the data transfer, storage and analysis provides a great advantage over the traditional local anemometer readings. The data acquisition chain has a good repeatability and low standard uncertainties. The proposed method measures isothermal air mean velocities from 0.1 ms−1 to 2 ms−1 with a standard uncertainty error less than 4%.