Compact printed thermal airflow sensor for ventilation applications

Abstract A novel compact thermal airflow sensor, utilizing screen-printed technology on foil, has been developed for integration with throttle dampers in ventilation systems. Compared to conventional airflow measurement techniques, the sensor reduces material consumption and spatial footprint while maintaining adequate measurement accuracy. The sensor system consists of a central heating element and six temperature sensors, all fabricated using cost-effective screen-printing techniques on Kapton foil. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were employed to optimize the geometry of both the sensor and the heater. Extensive performance validation, conducted across a range of flap angles and velocities, demonstrated a strong correlation with simulation data. Furthermore, an inverse model based on support vector regression was developed to predict the inlet air velocity from the measured temperature data, achieving an average relative error of 16%. This innovative sensor system offers significant potential for minimizing the spatial footprint and reducing the costs of airflow sensors in ventilation systems across residential, commercial, and industrial applications.