Surrey Sensors Ltd. (SSL) is pleased to announce that it has just released what is believed to be the world’s smallest self-contained CTA system. This next-generation nano-CTA unit measures less than 20 mm x 10 mm, and drives the specialised CMOS sensor elements fitted to a flexible polyamide strip. These sensors can be surface-mounted, can function in gas or liquid, and are so sensitive that they can be used at speeds lower than 10 mm/s in air.
“This is a revolution in thermal anemometry”, said SSL’s Director of Research, Dr. David Birch. “The ultra-small size of this package and the sensitivity of the elements opens up whole new application areas- from nonintrusive flow metering and ‘stick-on’ flow sensors to new skin-embedded UAV air data systems.”
“It works!” added SSL Technology Director and Chief Systems Designer Dr. Paul Nathan. “It provides a nice, clean signal, and behaves as expected.” The unit includes a proprietary hardware temperature compensation system, yielding a flat velocity response over a wide range of fluid temperatures. “It can be used in water or in air, without requiring any modification.” The unit outputs analogue signals which could be sampled directly, or the units could be networked together using SSL’s multichannel USB micro-CTA hub.
Directional anemometry probes and systems based on the micro-CTA technology are currently under development.
