可同时测量温度和压力的高灵敏度光纤光栅传感器

报道一种新颖的基于单个光纤布拉格光栅的传感器。该传感器将光栅的一部分封装在周围填充聚合物的金属空腔里,另一部分固定在金属柱体内。由于固定的光栅部分不受应变的影响,而封装在聚合物的光栅同时受温度和应变的影响,因此该结构可实现温度和应变的分离传感。同时,这种聚合物封装的结构把施加在聚合物上的横向应力巧妙地转化为施加在光栅上的轴向应变,可大大提高其应变传感灵敏度。实验结果表明该传感器不但可以实现压力和温度的同时测量,而且其压力灵敏度系数可达9.65×10-3MPa-1,约为裸光栅的4770倍。     

A novel approach based on artificial neural network for calibration of multi-hole pressure probes

Imperfections in the manufacturing process of flow measuring probes affect their measuring behavior. Nevertheless, in order to provide the highest possible accuracy, each individual multi-hole pressure probe has to be calibrated before using them in turbomachinery. This paper presents a novel method based on artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict the flow parameters of multi-hole pressure probes. A two-stage ANN approach using multilayer perceptron (MLP) is proposed in this study. The two-stage prediction approach involves two MLP networks, which represent the calibration data and the prediction error. For a given set of inputs, outputs from both networks are combined to estimate the measured value. The calibration data of a 5-hole probe at RWTH Aachen was used to develop and validate the proposed ANN models and two-stage prediction approach. The results showed that the ANN can predict the flow parameters with high accuracy. Using the two-stage approach, the prediction accuracy was further improved compared to polynomial functions, i.e. a commonly used method in probe calibration. Furthermore, the proposed approach offers high interpolation capabilities while preventing overfitting (i.e. failure to fit new data). Unlike polynomials, it is shown that the ANN based method can provide accurate predictions at intermediate points without large oscillations.     

An orifice meter for bidirectional air flow measurements: Influence of gas thermo-hygrometric content on static response and bidirectionality

This paper presents the design and calibration of an ISO non-compliant orifice plate flowmeter whose intended use is for respiratory function measurements in the bidirectional air flow range ±9 L/min.The novelty of the proposed sensor consists of a plate beveled in both upstream and downstream sides: a symmetrical geometry is adopted in order to perform bidirectional measurements of flow rate. A mathematical model is introduced to quantify the influence of temperature on the sensor output. Four different positions of the pressure static taps are evaluated in order to maximize bidirectionality. An index is also introduced in order to quantitatively estimate the anti-symmetry of the sensor's response curve.Trials are carried out to evaluate the influence on sensor output of air temperatures (22 °C, 30 °C and 37 °C) at different values of relative humidity (5%, 55% and 85%). Experimental data show a quite good agreement with the theoretical model (R²>0.98 in each condition).The influence of air temperature on the sensor output is minimized by introducing a correction factor based on the theoretical model leading to measurement repeatability better than 2% in overall range of calibration. The mean sensitivity in the calibration range is about 2 kPa L⁻¹·min allowing to obtain a sensor discrimination threshold lower than 0.2 L/min in both directions. The time constant of the whole measurement system, equal to 2.40±0.03 ms, leads to a bandwidth up to 80 Hz making the sensor suitable for respiratory function measurements.     

齿轮三维测量中线激光传感器位姿标定方法

在齿轮三维测量中,传感器位姿标定的结果直接影响测量结果的准确性.本文提出了一种基于特征标准件的线激光传感器位姿标定方法,并设计了一款具有一定几何特征的标准件.该方法解耦了传感器与仪器之间的位姿关系,通过运动过程中传感器与标准件的几何关系计算传感器的三个姿态角并调整至标定零位,然后通过多次偏置求等区域均值的方法依次计算传...     

A novel water content sensor design and its application for in-situ water content measurement inside the flow channel of PEMFC

In-situ water content detection in proton exchange fuel cell (PEMFC) is of great importance to its water management. In this study, flexible thin film water content microsensor (WCMS) were fabricated and deployed for real-time measurement of water distribution inside the channel of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The effect of inserting WCMS on the cell performance was confirmed to be negligible. Besides, three WCMS were used to monitor the variation of water distribution in the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the flow channel, respectively. The experimental results show that the WCMS can efficiently detect the change of water content inside the fuel cell in real time. The co-occurrence phenomenon of water column clogging in the flow channel and degradation of cell performance were observed. This work provides a novel design of WCMS and its application on the water content distribution inside flow channel of fuel cells.     

A femtogram resolution mass sensor platform based on SOI electrostatically driven resonant cantilever. Part II: sensor calibration and glycerine evaporation rate measurement

This paper presents mass measurements of glycerine beads performed by means of laterally resonant micro-cantilevers. The transducer architecture is based on a resonant cantilever electrostatically coupled by two parallel placed electrodes. Previous to glycerine measurements, a calibration of the mass sensor has been performed by measuring a standard mass based on latex spheres. From these measurements, a value of the mass responsivity is deduced. In addition, a study of the transducer phase noise has been carried out in order to determine the minimum detectable mass. Mass measurements experiments have been performed by detecting the change on the resonance frequency of the on-plane cantilever resonant mode, produced by locally deposited mass. Additionally, the mass losses detected on the calibrated transducer after glycerine drop deposition allowed determining its evaporation rate.     

Linearity dependence on oxygen fraction and gas temperature of a novel Fleisch pneumotachograph for neonatal ventilation at low flow rates

Fleisch pneumotachograph response is influenced by gas composition and temperature. Literature analysis shows that the influence of gas properties on the relationship between pressure drop and volumetric flow rate has not been widely investigated from the theoretical standpoint.     

Simulating distributed measurement networks in which sensors may be faulty,noisy and interdependent: A software tool for sensor network design,data fusion and uncertainty evaluation

We introduce a software simulation tool that can be used to study the measurement performance (both actual and intended) of sensor networks. The software, which is publicly available, is written in Matlab® with data read from an Excel® workbook, and may be used to investigate network performance, to compare different data fusion algorithms, and to evaluate the measurement uncertainties associated with aggregated data from networks.     

A novel measurement method for transient detection based in wavelets entropy and the spectral kurtosis: An application to vibrations and acoustic emission signals from termite activity

This paper presents a novel non-destructive method for termite detection that uses the entropy of the continuous wavelet transform of the acoustic emission signals as an uncertainty measurement, to achieve selective frequency separation in complex impulsive-like noisy scenarios, with the aid of the spectral kurtosis as a validating tool. The goal consists of detecting relevant frequencies, by looking up the minima in the curve associated to the entropy of the difference between the raw data and the wavelet-based reconstructed version. By measuring the signal’s uncertainty, the scales corresponding to the entropy minima, or pseudo-frequencies, manage to target three main types of emissions generated by termites: the modulating components (enveloping curve), the carrier signals (activity, feeding and excavating), and the communicating impulses bursts (alarms). The spectral kurtosis corroborates the location of the entropy minima (optimum uncertainty) matching them to its maxima, associated to frequencies with the highest amplitude variability, and consequently minimizing the measurement uncertainty. The method is primarily conceived to cover the acoustic-range, in order to acquire signals via standard sound cards; a broaden high-frequency study is developed for the assessment, and with the added value of discovering new and higher frequency components of the species emissions. The potential of the method makes it useful for myriads of applications in the frame of nondestructive transient detection.