Thomas E Markusic

US Patent:

7409875, Aug 12, 2008

Filed:

Sep 27, 2007

Appl. No.:

11/862793

Inventors:

Kurt A. Polzin - Owens Cross Roads AL, US
Valentin Korman - Huntsville AL, US
Thomas E. Markusic - McGregor TX, US
Boris Johann Stanojev - Stockholm, SE

Assignee:

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

International Classification:

G01F 1/708

US Classification:

7386195

Abstract:

A flowing electrically-conductive fluid is controlled between an upstream and downstream location thereof to insure that a convection timescale of the flowing fluid is less than a thermal diffusion timescale of the flowing fluid. First and second nodes of a current-carrying circuit are coupled to the fluid at the upstream location. A current pulse is applied to the current-carrying circuit so that the current pulse travels through the flowing fluid to thereby generate a thermal feature therein at the upstream location. The thermal feature is convected to the downstream location where it is monitored to detect a peak associated with the thermal feature so-convected. The velocity of the fluid flow is determined using a time-of-flight analysis.