Rugged constant-temperature thermal anemometer

Abstract

Here we report a robust thermal anemometer which can be easily built. It was conceived to measure outdoor wind speeds, and for airspeed monitoring in wind tunnels and other indoor uses. It works at a constant, low temperature of approximately 90$^\circ$C, so that an independent measurement of the air temperature is required to give a correct speed reading. Despite the size and high thermal inertia of the probe, the test results show that this anemometer is capable of measuring turbulent fluctuations up to ~100 Hz in winds of ~14 m/s, which corresponds to a scale similar to the length of the probe.