A study of angular rate sensing by corona discharge ion wind

Abstract

We report an application of ion wind in angular rate sensing. A new design of a jet flow gyroscope using ion wind corona discharge is developed by conducting a numerical simulation and then an experimental analysis with regard to the advantages of a corona-discharge-based jet flow. Ion wind is generated by applying a high-voltage between a pin, as the discharge electrode, and a ring, as the reference electrode. The current-voltage characteristics of the discharge process by experimental works is set up as the boundary condition to describe the ion wind flow in the numerical simulation. A jet flow of ion wind is observed through an experiment and a simulation. When the gyroscope is subjected to an angular rate, the induced Coriolis force deflects the ion wind. This deflection is detected using four hotwires installed downstream of the working chamber behind the reference electrode. The experimental result show that the angular rate can be detected with a sensitivity of 4.7 µV/ o /s. Because ion wind can be generated with minimum power and does not require any vibrating components, the device is robust, consumes low power, and is cost-effective.

A Circulatory Ionic Wind for Inertial Sensing Application

“…In a point-ring configuration, the velocity U of ion wind is estimated from the discharge current I as U = √I/ [15] where k depends on the electrode discharge area and the interelectrode distance;  = 1.6×10 -4 m2•V -1 •s -1 the ion mobility;  = 1.2041 kg•m -3 the air density; and I (I = µA) the discharge current. In this work, k is chosen 0.014 m -1/2 for the equal interelectrode distance [16], [17]. The velocity of ion flow in each channel is estimated 1.01 m/s (detailed estimation can be found in [15]) which is in good agreement with the simulated result (~1 m/s).…”

Numerical Study and Experimental Investigation of an Electrohydrodynamic Device for Inertial Sensing

“…The potential applied on the pin and ring electrodes are V and 0, respectively. The Townsend I-V relationship which is efficient for point-toring configuration as demonstrated in [15], [16] Inside channels, air flow, a self-generating flow system of incompressible and steady state, is governed by the Navier-Stokes and the continuity equations, respectively as:…”

Design, Modeling and Simulation of a Liquid Jet Gyroscope Based on Electrochemical Transducers

“…Gyroscope is an important inertial sensing element to detect the angular rate of moving objects [ 1 ]. The fluid gyroscope was studied widely in its various forms due to its small size, low cost, high reliability, high shock resistance and high vibration resistance, with thermal convective gas gyroscope being the most representative [ 2 , 3 ].…”