Novel uniaxial anemometer containing NTC thick film segmented thermistors

Abstract

A novel uniaxial anemometer was created using a NTC thick film segmented thermistor to measure wind speed and direction. The anemometer operated on the principle of heat loss caused by the air volume flow and air speed. A NTC segmented thermistor served as a wind sensor in the anemometer. It was self-heated by a DC constant voltage. The self-heated DC current through the thermistor was changed by heat loss due to resistivity changes. The wind speed was varied from 1 to 15 m/s for different input air temperatures in the range of -20 to +40°C. The wind direction was determined by measuring voltage differences on the inner electrodes of the NTC segmented thermistor. The air temperature was measure by a cold NTC thick film segmented thermistor calibrated in the claim chamber. Anemometar inertia was measured at room temperature (at 25°C) and normal room humidity (at 50%). The results obtained enable fast optimization and implementation of a uniaxial anemometer in a 3D anemometer. © 2008 IEEE.