Thermo-resistive mesh sensors (TMS) for temperature field measurements

Temperature is one of the–if not the–most frequently measured physical quantity. Most conventional temperature sensors provide only a point measurement of the temperature. In many fields of research and industry, knowledge of the temperature distribution is a great advantage. In the present contribution, a sensor for temperature field measurements is presented. The sensor is based on thermo-resistive elements (thermistors) arranged in a two- or three-dimensional matrix, where efforts for the signal acquisition do not grow proportionally to the number of channels, but only proportionally to its square root. The temperature measurement matrix has been successfully applied to a medium scale multi compartment test facility where buoyancy driven gas flows are studied in the context of nuclear reactor safety. Examples of test results are presented to demonstrate the potential of the sensor.

► High speed temperature field measurement.
► Use of thermo-resistive elements (thermistors) as sensors and existing wire-mesh electronics unit.
► Low cost and ease-of-use make this system as an alternative to optical temperature measurements.