An efficient miniature air suction system for chemical sensors for micro air vehicle application

This paper describes the design of a miniature air suction system to house a chemical sensor. It has been designed to improve the aerodynamic chemical sensing efficiency and to have a low weight since it is meant to be mounted on a micro air vehicle. The design is done around a readily available miniature axial flow fan by computational methods. A converging-diverging shape for the air suction system with the sensor disc having a central hole and mounted at the throat is proposed as good design concept. The systematic approach has led to a light weight system with high aerodynamic efficiency even under extreme flow conditions that may be caused by MAV manoeuvre or cross winds.