Fiber anemometer for simultaneously measuring wind speed and wind direction

Abstract

In this paper, we proposed a novel anemometer for simultaneously and conveniently monitoring wind speed and wind direction by using a pair of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The anemometer comprises a plastic ball, a stainless steel rod, and two FBGs. The gratings are glued to the surface of the stainless steel rod with a location separation of 90°. In the operation mechanism, the bend in the stainless‐steel‐rod caused by the wind force drives the FBGs, thereby leading to a grating wavelength shift for the measurement both of wind speed and wind direction This fiber anemometer is experimentally demonstrated in real time with a sensitivity of 0.02 nm/(m/s) and a resolution of 0.49 m/s for wind speed measurement, with a wind speed error of less than 2.38%, and a wind direction angle error of approximately 0.69%.