System and method for determining velocity of electrically conductive fluid

US7409875B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

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

Inventors

• Kurt A. Polzin · Owens Cross Roads, US
• Valentin Korman · Huntsville, US
• Thomas Edward Markusic · Georgetown, US
• Boris Johann Stanojev · Stockholm, SE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 27, 2007
• Grant date: Aug 12, 2008
• Expiry date: Sep 27, 2027

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01F1/7086
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A flowing electrically-conductive fluid is controlled between an upstream and downstream location thereof to insure that a convection timescale of the flowing fluid is less than a thermal diffusion timescale of the flowing fluid. First and second nodes of a current-carrying circuit are coupled to the fluid at the upstream location. A current pulse is applied to the current-carrying circuit so that the current pulse travels through the flowing fluid to thereby generate a thermal feature therein at the upstream location. The thermal feature is convected to the downstream location where it is monitored to detect a peak associated with the thermal feature so-convected. The velocity of the fluid flow is determined using a time-of-flight analysis.