Air Speed Sensor for Measuring Natural Convection in Dryers and Storehouses

The development of the quality control and the energy conservation needs more and more sophisticated methods in the post-harvest technologies i.e. the drying and the storage. To develop advanced methods detailed measurements are necessary to be carried out on the state of the product and the surrounding air. In this paper the development of a low range air speed sensor for this purpose is presented. During the work the commercially available sensors were analysed, from where the necessity of the development of a new sensor is shown. The analysed measuring approaches are presented with the advantages and disadvantages of the applied thermal principle. Modelling was elaborated for the sizing of the sensor and for simulation of the operation of the sensor under different conditions. As a prototype of the sensor was developed. Some control measurements are presented, as well. Copyright © 2005 IFAC