Sensors 2013, 13(7), 8977-8996; https://doi.org/10.3390/s130708977
A Radiosonde Using a Humidity Sensor Array with a Platinum Resistance Heater and Multi-Sensor Data Fusion
1
The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Measuring & Control Technology and Instrumentations of Heilongjiang Province, School of Measurement-Control Technology & Communications Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China
2
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 21 May 2013 / Revised: 2 July 2013 / Accepted: 8 July 2013 / Published: 12 July 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Testing and Reliability Issues in MEMS Engineering 2013)
Abstract
This paper describes the design and implementation of a radiosonde which can measure the meteorological temperature, humidity, pressure, and other atmospheric data. The system is composed of a CPU, microwave module, temperature sensor, pressure sensor and humidity sensor array. In order to effectively solve the humidity sensor condensation problem due to the low temperatures in the high altitude environment, a capacitive humidity sensor including four humidity sensors to collect meteorological humidity and a platinum resistance heater was developed using micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) technology. A platinum resistance wire with 99.999% purity and 0.023 mm in diameter was used to obtain the meteorological temperature. A multi-sensor data fusion technique was applied to process the atmospheric data. Static and dynamic experimental results show that the designed humidity sensor with platinum resistance heater can effectively tackle the sensor condensation problem, shorten response times and enhance sensitivity. The humidity sensor array can improve measurement accuracy and obtain a reliable initial meteorological humidity data, while the multi-sensor data fusion technique eliminates the uncertainty in the measurement. The radiosonde can accurately reflect the meteorological changes. View Full-TextKeywords:
radiosonde; CPU; temperature sensor; humidity sensor; MEMS; sensor array; condensation; multi-sensor data fusion
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Shi, Y.; Luo, Y.; Zhao, W.; Shang, C.; Wang, Y.; Chen, Y. A Radiosonde Using a Humidity Sensor Array with a Platinum Resistance Heater and Multi-Sensor Data Fusion. Sensors 2013, 13, 8977-8996.