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An efficient miniature air suction system for chemical sensors for micro air vehicle application

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Abstract

This paper describes the design of a miniature air suction system to house a chemical sensor. It has been designed to improve the aerodynamic chemical sensing efficiency and to have a low weight since it is meant to be mounted on a micro air vehicle. The design is done around a readily available miniature axial flow fan by computational methods. A converging-diverging shape for the air suction system with the sensor disc having a central hole and mounted at the throat is proposed as good design concept. The systematic approach has led to a light weight system with high aerodynamic efficiency even under extreme flow conditions that may be caused by MAV manoeuvre or cross winds.

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Abbreviations

D 1, D 2, D 3, L 1, L 2 :

dimensions of the sensor duct (mm) (see figures 8 and 15)

d :

diameter of the hole in the sensor disc plate (mm)

L :

total length of the air suction duct = 30 mm

p :

pressure (Pa)

Q :

volumetric flow rate (lpm)

T :

torque (N-m)

v :

velocity (m/s)

V ∞ :

velocity of the MAV carrying the air suction device (m/s)

z :

fan axis and also flow direction

α :

angle of attack of air suction device with freestream (deg)

ρ :

density of air (kg/m3)

τ w :

wall shear stress (Pa)

ω :

fan rotational speed (rad/s)

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi for funding this project; the Programme Office, National Programme on Micro Air Vehicles (NP-MICAV), Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru for sanctioning and monitoring the project; and the National Design and Research Forum (NDRF), Bengaluru of the Institution of Engineers (India) for coordinating the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Formerly, M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, 560 058, India

    M D Deshpande

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, 560 058, India

    M Sivapragasam & S Umesh

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  1. M D Deshpande
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  2. M Sivapragasam
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  3. S Umesh
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Correspondence to M Sivapragasam.

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Deshpande, M.D., Sivapragasam, M. & Umesh, S. An efficient miniature air suction system for chemical sensors for micro air vehicle application. Sādhanā 45, 116 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-020-01352-y

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