Radionuculide counting technique for measuring wind velocity and direction

US4449400A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration · US

Inventor

• Jag J. Singh · Yorktown, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 24, 1982
• Grant date: May 22, 1984
• Expiry date: Nov 24, 2002

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01P13/045
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An anemometer utilizing a radionuclide counting technique for measuring both the velocity and the direction of wind. A pendulum 12 consisting of a wire 13 and a ball 14 with a source of radiation 15 on the lower surface of the ball is positioned by the wind. Detectors 16, 17 and 18 are located in a plane perpendicular to pendulum 13 (no wind). The detectors are located on the circumference of a circle and are equidistant from each other as well as the undisturbed (no wind) source ball position. The ratio of the outputs of detectors 16 and 17, and the ratio of the outputs of detectors 17 and 18 are applied to a processor 23 to select from the data stored in the processor the wind velocity V and the wind direction .phi.. In a second embodiment of the invention (FIG. 10) the pendulum consists of a wire 27, a heavy ball 24, a string 28 and a lighter ball 25 with radiation sources on the lower surfaces of both balls.