Accurate Gas Flow Measurement from Ever-Smaller Sensors

Used by manufacturers, technicians and field service engineers alike, gas flow sensors can provide crucial insight into the performance of a wide variety of devices. As their applications grow, it’s becoming ever more important to provide gas flow sensing capabilities in a smaller package

In building ventilation and HVAC systems, gas sensors play a crucial role in enabling feedback control and ensuring air is circulating properly. Process industries such as food and beverage and chemical processing can also benefit from the use of gas flow sensors. From a predictive maintenance perspective, gas flow sensors can be useful tools in detecting issues such as clogged filters, leaks and any other blockages.

It’s important to choose the right materials for the sensor to function correctly. When it comes to the wire, it’s preferable to choose a material with a high temperature coefficient of resistance, such as platinum or a nickel-chromium alloy. Higher coefficients equal a higher increase in electrical resistance for a given rise in temperature, thereby making smaller temperature rises — and therefore smaller changes in gas flow — easier to detect.

Because there are no moving parts, this type of flow gas sensor offers high robustness and reliability, making it ideal for more heavy-duty applications and mounting onto moving parts such as cars and industrial machinery. The nature of the flow detection method also means that it’s possible to detect flow in either direction. And a thin layer of insulating film helps to protect the sensor from direct exposure, meaning this method can also be used for the flow detection of hazardous gases.

One disadvantage that does come with these sensors that the signal generated can often be very small, particularly at low flow rates. As a result, there’s a need for enhanced signal amplification and conditioning processes, on top of the necessary signal conversion from analogue into a digital format.

Demand for smaller and more sophisticated sensor systems continues to grow. While these strict size and performance requirements might initially seem daunting, there’s no need for concern. Our can achieve accurate and efficient gas flow measurement, with a performance superior to the rest of the competition. We can provide various types of gas detection sensors with various parameters