Flow anomaly detector
OwnerStephen T. Stark, Stephen H. Caldwellinventors
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Abstract
An apparatus for detecting an anomaly in a flowing stream includes a set of blades rotatably suspended in the flowing stream and aligned with a normal flow direction of the flowing stream. The blades are configured to rotate at one rate when the anomaly is present in the flowing stream and to rotate at a different rate when the anomaly is absent from the flowing stream. A device is prescribed for measuring rate of rotation and rotation direction of the blades.
Claims21
A method of detecting an anomaly in a flowing stream using at least two rotors, the method comprising:
- determining a response of each of the at least two rotors to an induced flowing condition with a known anomaly;
- positioning the at least two rotors in the flowing stream and determining a response of each of the at least two rotors to the flowing stream;
- and
- comparing the response of each of the at least two rotors in the flowing stream to the response of each of the at least two rotors in the induced flowing condition to determine whether the known anomaly is present in the flowing stream.
An apparatus for detecting an anomaly in a flowing stream, comprising:
- at least two rotors having known spin rates in an induced flowing condition with a known anomaly, each of the at least two rotors having a plurality of blades for suspension in and alignment with a normal flow direction of the flowing stream;
- means for measuring spin rates of the at least two rotors in the flowing stream;
- and
- means for comparing the spin rates of the at least two rotors in the flowing stream to the known spin rates to determine whether the anomaly is present in the flowing stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.