Compact safety system for automatic flagpole : Flow sensor anemometer

Sammanfattning: Automating tasks and processes are becoming more and more common in both corporate and everyday life. The aim of this project is to assist the company Hotswap in the development of a safety system for an existing automatic flagpole. The safety system should be able to monitor wind velocity and, optionally, wind direction as well as communicate the data to the flagpole’s main control unit. The thesis describes and discusses the different possible mechanisms, solutions for measuring wind, and a possible implementation. A method for measuring wind velocity by utilizing an FS5 thermal mass flow sensor was selected and a prototype was developed for testing the performance of the implementation. The tests showed that the thermal mass flow sensor fulfilled the requirements regarding wind velocity measurement and accuracy with an average deviation of 0.19 m/s from the reference value. The solution was then discussed and compared with Hotswap’s existing prototype. The comparison showed that the prototype was a viable alternative. Finally, some suggestions for further development were presented along with the conclusion that the prototype provides a proof of concept for a fully realizable solution.