Portable vehicle exhaust flow sensor

A portable exhaust gas flow sensor for real-time measurement of exhaust gas flow from a vehicle, the sensor comprising:

• a tube for connecting to an exhaust pipe of the vehicle, the tube including an interior thin, stranded mesh screen to generate a pressure drop as exhaust gas flows across the screen, an upstream port for measuring pressure upstream of the screen, a downstream port for measuring pressure downstream of the screen, and a thermocouple port for measuring exhaust gas temperature;
• a differential pressure transducer in communication with the upstream and downstream ports for generating a signal based on a pressure difference between the upstream and downstream ports;
• a thermocouple in communication with the thermocouple port for generating a signal based on temperature of exhaust gas flowing through the straight tube;
• and
• a processor for receiving the signals from the differential pressure transducer and the thermocouple and determining exhaust gas flow based on the received signals.