Patent GB-1396462-A (GB)
Title: Method and device for measurement by active sensor
IPC: G01P5/10
Filed: 1973-07-04
Abstract: 1396462 Measuring fluid properties OFFICE NATIONAL D'ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES AEROSPATIALES 4 July 1973 [21 July 1972] 31871/73 Heading G1N A property of a fluid which affects the rate at which it absorbs heat, e.g. its pressure, flow-rate or thermal diffusivity, is investigated by immersing a temperature dependent resistor in the fluid and applying two or more'electrical pulses to the resistor whilst measuring its resistance. The time interval between the pulses is short so that the resistor, after being heated by one pulse, has not reached thermal equilibrium with the fluid before the next pulse arrives. By choice of this interval it is possible to measure two properties of the fluid since pressure is the property which mainly affects the resistor coqling immediately after the first pulse, while flow-rate mainly affects cooling as subsequent pulses occur. In Fig.1, the resistor is a sensor 10 forming part of a bridge circuit 11 to which pulses A are fed by source 12. The resistance of the sensor is measured on line B and fed to a differential amplifier 13; line C is connected to the other input of amplifier 13 and also to a circuit 16 which is an R.C. network simulating the performance of a temperature dependent resistor in a standard fluid. Both the source 12 and circuit 16 are controlled by clock 131 so that the sensor 10 and the circuit 16 receive similar current pulses. As a result the output of differential amplifier 13 represents the difference between the characteristics of the fluid around sensor 10 and the standard fluid represented in circuit 16. A measurement of the difference is made by gating storage circuit 17 during the first pulse and by gating storage circuit 18 during the next pulse. These stored values are subtracted at 21 to give one output, and a second output is available on line 19; the first of these outputs is a measure of the cooling of the sensor 10 between the pulses and thus represents pressure or flow depending on the time interval, while the second output represents the temperature of the sensor before the first pulse. Fig.2, shows the current pulses at A, the sensor temperature change at B, the response of the simulator at C, and the difference between the sensor and the simulator at D. When the first current pulse 14 is delivered the sensor is at temperature #e and the simulator is equivalent to # e '; as a result of the current these temperatures rise to # o  and # o 'respectively, then fall to # 1  and # 1 'at which time the second pulse 15 is delivered. During the current pulses the sensor and the simulator heat up at the same rate, so that their difference is constant during the pulses; thus during the pulse 14 the difference represents # e -# e ' and during pulse 15 it represents # 1 -# 1 '. The difference is not measured during the cooling period between pulses, hence graph D returns to zero between the pulses. It will be seen that the output of store 17, Fig.1, is # e -# e ' and that of store 18 is # 1 -# 1 '. Thus line 19 of Fig.1 measures the starting temperature # e , # e ' being a constant. It can also be seen from Fig.2, that due to the constant difference of curves B and C during the pulses the value # e -# e ' equals # 0 -# 0 '; as a result the output on line 20 of Fig.1 is (# 0 -# 0 ')- (# 1 -# 1  ), i.e. is (# 0 -# 1 ) + (# 1 '-# 0 '). The latter part of this is a constant, and thus line 20 measures (# 0 -# 1 ) which expresses how the sensor cools between pulses. As stated above, depending on the time interval, this is a measure of pressure or flow. The circuits of Fig.1 are elaborated in Fig.3 (not shown). A suitable sensor construction is shown in Fig.5 where temperature dependent wire 49 is fixed across a cylinder 45 having a small hole 48 in its base through which fluid flows. The sensor will measure the pressure drop across this hole or the flow through it. If one side of the hole is open to the atmosphere or some other reference pressure the device acts as an absolute manometer. The device may be 1 mm<SP>3</SP> in volume.