Journal of Physics: Conference Series

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Low-Cost DIY Vane Anemometer based on LabVIEW interface for

Arduino
To cite this article: Meechai Thepnurat et al 2018 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1144 012028

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Siam Physics Congress 2018 (SPC2018) : A Creative Path to Sustainable Innovation IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1144 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012028 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1144/1/012028

Low-Cost DIY Vane Anemometer based on LabVIEW

interface for Arduino

Meechai Thepnurat1,2*, Parinya Saphet1,2 and Anusorn Tong-on1,2

1
Program of Physics Education, Faculty of Education,
Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, 57100
2
Physics Innovation Laboratory, Faculty of Education,
Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, 57100

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. An anemometer from low-cost materials in a DIY (Do it yourself) for the fabrication
process was composed of a rotating vane (modified from cooler CPU) with speed sensor
installed on it. The vane was connected to Arduino and controlled by LabVIEW program. This
anemometer was called “Vane Anemometer based on LabVIEW interface for Arduino
(VALA) model”. The VALA was calibrated and compared with a hand-held standard
anemometer (TECPEL model of AVM-702) for measurement of wind velocity of 0.6-4.7 m/s.
The efficiency of the VALA was confirmed by the slope was 0.0052 which the blade was
calculated to be 4.96 cm with the error of 0.8%. The VALA was low cost, thus it could become
an easy-to-use fabricated DIY for application in Physics education lab in high schools.

1. Introduction
Wind speed measuring device is an important instrument to identify wind or gas properties. An
anemometer is an ordinary weather station instrument for that purpose. The word is derived from the
Greek word Anemos, meaning “wind”. An anemometer was described for the first time around 1450
by Leon Battista Alberti. It has a variety of models; for example, cap anemometer, windmill
anemometer, hot-wire anemometer, laser Doppler anemometer, sonic anemometer and vane
anemometer [1,2]. In the present, the vane anemometers are normally used to measure velocity of air
or gas substances at room temperature and determine the volume flow rate in various applications,
such as mining ventilation systems, air or gas control systems in factories, smart farm system and
meteorological measurement [1,2]. The sensing element is a vane rotor, of which the rotational speed
is proportional to the velocity of the flowing air stream. It is different from other models and designed
to be easy to use and carry. It can be used in physics classroom and laboratory (e.g. Bernoulli's.
principle demonstration) to create understandable experiments that involve measuring the velocity of
wind.
In this paper, an easy simple DIY fabrication [3] is described to demonstrate fabrication methods
for a simple set of anemometer called Vane Anemometer based on LabVIEW interface for Arduino
[4,5] (VALA) model. The VALA is suitable for teachers and students in high schools as it allows them
to DIY the device by themselves to study Physics lab experiments regarding wind’s nature. With this
kind of activity-based learning (ABL) to create the VALA, it is aimed to help students to understand
the Bernoulli's principle of the wind by self-experimentation.

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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
Siam Physics Congress 2018 (SPC2018) : A Creative Path to Sustainable Innovation IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1144 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012028 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1144/1/012028

2. Experimental setup and procedures

In figure 1, the VALA was composed of the rotating vane which was modified from the cooler CPU
with the speed sensor (LM393 Comparator Speed Sensor Module or a FC-03 Infrared RPM) installed
on it by DIY process. And, it was connected with Arduino board and controlled by LabVIEW
program. Then, the VALA was calibrated and compared with a hand-held standard anemometer to
measure the velocity of wind at 0.6-4.7 m/s which corresponds to the distance of 0.2-1.4 m from the
wind source.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 1. The rotating vane has front and back sides equipped with the speed sensor (LM393) and the
blade on it. (a) Comparison between the VALA and AVM-702, (b) the flowchart in LABVIEW
programming was designed to measure wind velocity (c) block diagram and (d) front panel.

3. Theoretical Background
The Disk actuator theory was explained by Rankine (1865) and Froude (1885) to provide an analytical
means for evaluating ship propellers. It can explain how wind acts on the wind vane and how to
calculate wind speed from rotation of the wind vane or idealized windmill. Based on the assumption,
the infinitely thin vane offers no resistance to air passing through it, therefore the analysis is purely
1-D which thrust loading and velocity is uninformed on the vane, and far upstream and far
downstream pressure is the freestream static pressure, viscous effects are not considered and
incompressible. From the conservation of mass [6-9]

 AVw1   AVwav   AVw2 (1)

2
Siam Physics Congress 2018 (SPC2018) : A Creative Path to Sustainable Innovation IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1144 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012028 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1144/1/012028

where  is the fluid density, A is the area, Vw1 , Vwav and Vw 2 are wind speed at the front, the middle
and the back of the vane, respectively, we can write the angular momentum in term of pressure ( P )
and the pressure at the vane ( PV ).

(a) (b)

Figure 2. (a) Experimental set up of the VALA and (b) diagram of the direction that the controlled
volume of the wind was percolated through the vane.

This leads to the assumption of equal wind speed and rotating blade speed. The rotating vane is
modified from the cooler CPU and is designed to provide fast venting, so the wind speed of the
rotating blades is close to the speed of the wind that flows through the vane. The vane has a twisting
angle (  ) at about 110-135 degrees to get wind. The direction of the wind speed ( Vwav ) is controlled
by the twisting vane in the opposite direction to the velocity ( V  r ) [10] as shown in figure 2 (b
(iii)). So, we can find the wind speed equation,

2 (2)
Vwav  V   r  r
T

where the blade rotates to pass the speed sensor (LM 393), and the angular velocity of sensor can be
written as:

2 (3)
  RPM
60

then,

2 (4)
Vwav  RPM r
60

4. Experimental results
The values of wind speed measured by the VALA were lower than those of AVM-702 anemometer, as
shown in figure 3(a) that it was typically affected by many factors such as friction torque of CPU
motor. To reduce the error of measurement, the VALA was calibrated in comparison with AVM-702
anemometer. The calibration curve of wind speed was shown in figure 3(b). After data correction of
the wind speed of the VALA was added into the program, the efficiency of the VALA was confirmed
by equation 4 to verify the relation between the wind speed and the revolution of motor (RPM). In
figure 3(c), the slope was 0.0052 which was equal to 2 r / 60 . Then, the radius of the blade was

3
Siam Physics Congress 2018 (SPC2018) : A Creative Path to Sustainable Innovation IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1144 (2018)
1234567890 ‘’“” 012028 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1144/1/012028

calculated to be 4.96 cm with the error of 0.8%. It was equal to the radius of the actual rotor, so it
could be a do-it-yourself craft for a standard wind gauge.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3. Graph showing wind speed in relation to distance from the wind source of VALA before
calibration in comparison with AVM-702 (a). Values from standard anemometer (AVM-702) were
calibrated and compared with values from constructed anemometer (the VALA) (b). Graph of wind
speed and revolution confirmed by equation (4) (c).

5. Conclusions
Low-Cost DIY Vane Anemometer based on LabVIEW interface for Arduino was fabricated to provide
simplicity as a key to an activity-based learning (ABL) lesson for both teachers and students despite of
lacking expensive equipment in learning about the nature of wind in everyday life. From these VALA
kits, a few experiments were carried out to demonstrate how these principles could be realized in the
field. Further advanced experiments utilizing these kinds of VALA kits for meteorology applications
could also be a challenge for them.

Acknowledgement
Authors wish to acknowledge the Faculty of Education, the financial support from Research,
Development Institute Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Chiang Rai Rajabhat University and assistance
from colleagues, Jirachaya Namthong and Areeya Titipattaranone.

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