Carbon nanotube flow sensor device and method
First Claim
1. A flow sensing device useful for measurement of liquid flow velocities along the direction of the liquid flow and irrespective of a nature of the liquid, said device comprising at least one carbon nanotube, said at least one carbon nanotube being arranged between at least two conducting elements, the two conducting elements connecting the at least one carbon nanotube to an electricity measurement device for measuring electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of the liquid.
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Abstract
A method and device for measuring the flow of a liquid utilizes at least one carbon nanotube. More particularly, the velocity of a liquid along the direction of the flow is measured as a function of the current/voltage generated in at least one carbon nanotube due to the flow of the liquid along its surface.
21 Citations
58 Claims
- 1. A flow sensing device useful for measurement of liquid flow velocities along the direction of the liquid flow and irrespective of a nature of the liquid, said device comprising at least one carbon nanotube, said at least one carbon nanotube being arranged between at least two conducting elements, the two conducting elements connecting the at least one carbon nanotube to an electricity measurement device for measuring electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of the liquid.
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20. A method for determination of liquid flow velocities irrespective of the nature of the liquid the method comprising:
- immersing in said liquid a flow sensing device comprising of at least one carbon nanotube arranged between two conducting elements which connect the at least one carbon nanotube to an electricity measurement device, the liquid flow over the at least one carbon nanotube generating a flow of electricity along the direction of the liquid flow by forcing free charges present in the at least one nanotube, the electrical energy generated by movement of the free charges in the nanotube being transmitted by said the conducting elements to the electricity measurement device provided external to the liquid flow, to measure electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of the liquid.
- View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for determination of liquid flow velocities irrespective of a nature of a liquid or the flow velocity thereof, which comprises measuring in said liquid a flow sensing device comprising of at least one carbon nanotube connected at each end through at least a conducting element to a electricity measurement means, the liquid flow over said at least one carbon nanotube generating a flow of electricity along the direction of the liquid flow by forcing free charges present in the at least one nanotube, said electrical energy being transmitted by said conducting element to said electricity measurement means provided external to the liquid flow, to measure the electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of said liquid;
wherein the forcing of the free charges is along the direction of the liquid flow due to the Coulombic interaction between the Coulombic field of the liquid and the free charges, thereby ensuring that only velocity along the direction of the liquid flow is determined.
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30. A method for determination of liquid flow velocities irrespective of a nature of the liquid or a flow velocity thereof, which comprises measuring in said liquid a flow sensing device comprising of at least one carbon nanotube connected at each end through at least a conducting element to a electricity measurement means, the liquid flow over said at least one carbon nanotube generating a flow of electricity along the direction of the liquid flow by forcing free charges present in the at least one nanotube, said electrical energy being transmitted by said conducting element to said electricity measurement means provided external to the liquid flow, to measure the electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of said liquid
wherein the at least one carbon nanotube is immersed in the liquid at rest and generates a rest voltage in the nanotube, an exact velocity of the liquid flow being calculated as a function of a voltage generated in the carbon nanotube during flow after deduction of the rest voltage.
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31. A method for determination of liquid flow velocities irrespective of a nature of the liquid or a flow velocity thereof, which comprises measuring in said liquid a flow sensing device comprising of at least one carbon nanotube connected at each end through at least a conducting element to a electricity measurement means, the liquid flow over said at least one carbon nanotube generating a flow of electricity along the direction of the liquid flow by forcing free charges present in the at least one nanotube, said electrical energy being transmitted by said conducting element to said electricity measurement means provided external to the liquid flow, to measure the electricity generated as a function of a rate of flow of said liquid
wherein a response time of the flow sensing device is less than 0.01 seconds.
- 32. An energy conversion device comprising a energy generation device comprising one or more carbon nanotubes, each of the one or more nanotubes comprising of at least one carbon nanotube arranged between two conducting elements connecting the at least one carbon nanotube to an electricity storage or usage device to store or use electricity generated in the at least one carbon nanotubes due to the liquid flow along the surface thereof.
- 47. A method for the generating electrical energy using an energy conversion device comprising an energy generation device comprising one or more carbon nanotubes, each of said one or more nanotube comprising of at least one carbon nanotube arranged between two conducting elements connecting the at least one carbon nanotube to an electricity storage or usage device, the flow of the liquid along the surface of the energy conversion device forcing the free charges in the one or more carbon nanotubes to flow along the direction of the liquid flow, thereby generating electrical energy, said electrical energy being transmitted to the energy storage or usage device through the two conducting elements.
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57. A flow sensing device for measuring liquid flow velocities, the device comprising:
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two electrodes;
at least one carbon nanotube sandwiched between the two electrodes; and
an electricity measurement device for measuring electricity generated by the flow sensing device as a function of a rate of flow of the liquid, the electricity measurement device being connected to opposing ends of the carbon nanotube through the two electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (58)
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Specification