Ultrasonic wind sensors and anemometers measuring wind speed and direction

INTRODUCING THE NEW FT7 SERIES WIND SENSORS

FT7 SERIES FT7 SERIES

Now reading wind speeds up to 75m/s, our new FT7 Series wind sensors, incorporating our own patented Acu-Res® Technology, also feature improved accuracy.

EXPLORE THE FT7 SERIES EXPLORE THE FT7 SERIES

WORKS IN ANY ENVIRONMENT WORKS IN ANY ENVIRONMENT

With no moving parts, built-in heaters, and resistance to a wide range of environmental factors, FT wind sensors are maintenance-free and will last for years, even in the harshest of climates.

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MANY DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS MANY DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS

Small, easy to heat, lightweight yet strong, our ultrasonic anemometers are ideal for use in many meteorological applications as well as in the wind turbine industry.

READ CASE STUDIES READ CASE STUDIES

Wind Sensors Powered by Acu-Res® Technology

Invented by our Executive Chairman, Dr Savvas Kapartis, and patented in 1997, Acu-Res® is a solid-state (no moving parts) technology for measuring wind speed and direction.

Acu-Res® uses an acoustic (ultrasonic) wave which is resonated inside a small cavity. A strong resonating sound wave in a small space gives a signal to noise ratio more than 40db stronger than other ultrasonic technologies.

Acu-Res® is unique to FT Technologies and is what gives our sensors a more robust and reliable measurement solution than mechanical anemometers and other ultrasonic wind sensors.

HOW ACU-RES® TECHNOLOGY WORKS

TESTED TO THE EXTREME

FT Technologies’ wind sensors have passed 28 independent tests including ice, corrosion, sand, dust, hail, vibration, drop, and lightning protection.

During testing FT sensors are exposed to one month of Amazon rainfall in one hour, repeatedly dropped onto concrete, cycled from Antarctic to Sahara heat, submerged in water, subjected to 8000 volts and exposed to corrosive salt spray.

After every test the wind sensors continue to work accurately. Click on each icon to learn more.

Lightning
Wind sensors may be exposed to high levels of electromagnetic interference from static discharges and nearby lightning strikes. Our FT7 Series sensors incorporate robust protection circuitry to shield them against these effects. They will survive undamaged even through lightning-induced surges in excess of 4kA 8/20μs.

Tested and Proven:
- Immunity for industrial environments EN 61000-6-2.
- Electrostatic discharge immunity test EN 61000-4-2.
- Electrical fast transient/burst immunity test EN 61000-4-4.
- Surge immunity test EN 61000-4-5.
- Pulse magnetic field immunity test EN 61000-4-9.
- Voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations on d.c. input power port immunity tests EN 61000-4-29.
Additional EMC tests and full details available on request.
Corrosion
Ideal for offshore wind turbines and all marine applications.

Tested and Proven:
- Corrosion resistant: ISO 9227 (2006) & IEC12944 (1998)
- Corrosion class: C5-M High
- Corrosion test in neutral salt spray atmosphere for 1440 hours
Solar Radiation

24 hours of UV radiation with an ambient temperature of 55°C, irradiance of 1120 W/m².

Passed: EN 60068-2-5 (2000)
Rain, Mist, Fog and Humidity
Passed:
- DEF STAN 00-35 Test C26 - Fog intensity of 1 to 2 ml/80cm2 for one hour.
- DEF STAN 00-35 Test CL27 - Rain at 200 ± mm for one hour.
- IP67 - Submerged in 1 metre depth of water for 30 minutes.
- EN 60068-2-78 (2002) - Stationary relative humidity +93% for 240 hours.
- EN 60068-2-30 (2005) - Cyclic humidity - Six 24 hour cycles, upper temperature 55C°.
Sand/dust

Sand and Dust resistant: DEF STAN 00-35 CL25 (2006) sand particles for 3 hours and dust particles for 3 hours, at 29 m/s air velocity, concentration 1.1g/m³.
Hail

Hail resistant: EN 61215 (2005) 10 hail stones, 7.5 grams each shot at the sensor at 23 m/s.
Freezing Rain and Ice
Designed for harsh winters, the FT7 Series wind sensors have an in-built heating system that gives total temperature control.

Ice-resistant to MIL-STD-810G:
- Ice-resistant - Sensor remains ice-free when freezing rain applied in a chamber with temperature -14°C, wind speed 15m/s.
- De-icing - Sensor exposed to freezing rain in air flow of 15m/s and -14°C. Ice built up to 45mm. Heaters switched on. Airflow and temperature unchanged. The sensor was ice-free in under 15 minutes.
Altitude
- 4 hours at a constant low pressure typical to 3000 metres above sea level. Passed: EN60068-2-13 (1999)
- Additional tests in a dedicated altitude wind tunnel have shown that the sensor measures accurately up to 4000m
Vibration
3 axis Sinusoidal and Random Vibration

Passed:
- EN 60068-2-6 (2008)
  5-500 Hz, 1 octave/min sweep range for sinusoidal vibration.
- EN 60068-2-64 (2008)
  5-500 Hz, 90 mins per axis, 0.0075g²/Hz for random vibration.
Drop

Drop resistant: EN 60068-2-31 (2008) dropped 6 times at different angles from 1 metre onto steel faced concrete.
Ingress
Passed: EN 60529:1992+A2:2013 - Sealed to IP66 and IP67
- Exposed to a dust chamber for 8 hours.
- Submerged in 1 metre depth of water for 30 mins.
- Sprayed by powerful water jets at 100 litres per minute from a distance of 2.5 metres
Heat and cold
Operating Temperature: -40°C to +85°C

Passed:
- EN 60068-2-1 (2007) - 16 hours of cold air at -40°C.
- EN 60068-2-2 (2007) - 16 hours dry heat at +85°C.
- EN 60068-2-14 (2009) - 74 hours of heat and cold, 16 temperature cycles from -40°C to +70°C.