Search results

There is increasing concern about the quality of the air breathed by passengers in the cabins of various different forms of transport. In the case of motor vehicles, the concentration of air pollutants in passenger cabins, particularly in the urban environment, is significantly higher (by two to three times) than the nominal value outside the cabin. Aircraft draw in fresh air from outside the cabin. On the ground the same concentration mechanism as motor vehicles applies. At altitude the major problem is the relatively high concentration of ozone. In cruise liners the problem is analogous to large hotels and casinos: efficient air‐conditioning requires re‐circulation of the air and pollutant concentrations build up over time. Strategies are being developed to mitigate these effects, and for optimal operation most require the use of low cost gas sensors for monitoring and/or control. This article describes what can be achieved with mixed‐metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors.

The bulk batch fabrication process of thick film technology has been utilised in the design and production of miniature amperometric dissolved oxygen sensors based on potentiostatic and voltammetric operation. Three different polymers have been investigated as membrane materials – cellulose acetate, PTFE and PVC. PTFE has been deposited on the devices by aerosol spray and PVC and cellulose acetate by screen‐printing. These methods have been shown to be effective membrane fabrication techniques, and have significant implications in the field of chemical sensors as a whole. All the membrane covered devices investigated were found to exhibit sensitive and linear responses to dissolved oxygen. The effects of temperature and flow rate on sensor response have been investigated and the use of PVC and PTFE in place of cellulose acetate have been shown to reduce both effects. These membranes have also been shown to reduce the detrimental effects of fouling observed on the surfaces of cellulose acetate covered devices as they are powered in tap water.

Pressure, being one of the key variables investigated in scientific and engineering research, requires critical and accurate measurement techniques. With the advancements in materials and machining technologies, there is a large leap in the measurement techniques including the development of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors. These sensors are one to two orders smaller in magnitude than traditional sensors and combine electrical and mechanical components that are fabricated using integrated circuit batch-processing technologies. MEMS are finding enormous applications in many industrial fields ranging from medical to automotive, communication to electronics, chemical to aviation and many more with a potential market of billions of dollars. MEMS pressure sensors are now widely used devices owing to their intrinsic properties of small size, light weight, low cost, ease of batch fabrication and integration with an electronic circuit. This paper aims to identify and analyze the common pressure sensing techniques and discuss their uses and advantages. As per our understanding, usage of MEMS pressure sensors in the aerospace industry is quite limited due to cost constraints and indirect measurement approaches owing to the inability to locate sensors in harsh environments. The purpose of this study is to summarize the published literature for application of MEMS pressure sensors in the said field. Five broad application areas have been investigated including: propulsion/turbomachinery applications, turbulent flow diagnosis, experimentalaerodynamics, micro-flow control and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/micro aerial vehicle (MAV) applications.

The first part of the paper deals with an introduction to MEMS pressure sensors and mathematical relations for its fabrication. The second part covers pressure sensing principles followed by the application of MEMS pressure sensors in five major fields of aerospace industry.

In this paper, various pressure sensing principles in MEMS and applications of MEMS technology in the aerospace industry have been reviewed. Five application fields have been investigated including: Propulsion/Turbomachinery applications, turbulent flow diagnosis, experimental aerodynamics, micro-flow control and UAV/MAV applications. Applications of MEMS sensors in the aerospace industry are quite limited due to requirements of very high accuracy, high reliability and harsh environment survivability. However, the potential for growth of this technology is foreseen due to inherent features of MEMS sensors’ being light weight, low cost, ease of batch fabrication and capability of integration with electric circuits. All these advantages are very relevant to the aerospace industry. This work is an endeavor to present a comprehensive review of such MEMS pressure sensors, which are used in the aerospace industry and have been reported in recent literature.

As per the author’s understanding, usage of MEMS pressure sensors in the aerospace industry is quite limited due to cost constraints and indirect measurement approaches owing to the inability to locate sensors in harsh environments. Present work is a prime effort in summarizing the published literature for application of MEMS pressure sensors in the said field. Five broad application areas have been investigated including: propulsion/turbomachinery applications, turbulent flow diagnosis, experimental aerodynamics, micro-flow control and UAV/MAV applications.

Looks at the development of a new ultrasonic meter for the gas supply industry and explaining the transit time measurement principle on which it works and the performance characteristics of the new meter. Concludes that the ultrasound gas meter could also have medical applications including anaesthetics and hospital ward monitoring. There have been limited production runs of the new gas meter and extensive trials are taking place in several countries.

This paper aims to solve the typical thermal airflow sensor's high power consumption and integration difficulties, based on the FS5 thermal element and constant temperature measurement method, a flow sensor is developed with high measurement accuracy, low power consumption, small size, low cost and easy system integration.

A small wind tunnel was used to test and assess the sensor's measurement range, reaction time, stability, repeatability, measurement accuracy and multi-temperature calibration was performed in the temperature range of −10°C to 30°C. The effect of ambient temperature on the sensor's measurement data is investigated, and the coefficient correction method of power function was investigated to implement the sensor's software temperature compensation function.

The results show that the sensor is stable and repeatable, the output voltage has a power function relationship with the airflow rate, the flow rate measurement range is 0–18 m/s, the response time is less than 3 s, the measurement accuracy at high flow rates is within 0.4 m/s and the temperature-corrected airflow rate measurement error is less than 5%. Setting the temperature calibration interval to 2°C and 5°C has the same temperature compensation effect, reducing the sensor's calibration effort significantly.

This paper demonstrates that a thermostatic method is used to construct a thermal wind speed sensor that delivers accurate measurements in the wind speed measuring range of 0–18 m/s under test conditions. In addition, the sensor's performance is evaluated, and calibration tests for a wide range of temperatures are done. Finally, based on the power function correction method, a temperature compensation algorithm is proposed.

A big market for sensors in the 1990's could be in so‐called intelligent buildings — if the predictions are correct, as Stephen McClelland explains.

Micromachining is becoming an increasingly important technique in sensor fabrication and could have huge potential commercially, as Stephen McClelland explains.