A flexible integrated micromachined hot-film sensor array for measuring surface flow vector

This paper reports a flexible micromachined integrated hot-film sensor array for measuring flow vector around object surfaces, such as on aircrafts and vessels. The flow sensing elements and electric wiring are fabricated directly on a flexible polyimide Printed Circuit Board (PCB) by incorporating standard printed circuit techniques with micromachining techniques. Three micro hot-film elements are integrated, and tailor-designed to implement the measurements for detecting local surface flow vector in a directional range of 180°. The theoretical and experimental verifications on the new method are presented.