Computational fluid dynamics analysis and experimental study of a low measurement error temperature sensor used in climate observation

To improve the air temperature observation accuracy, a low measurement error temperature sensor is proposed. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is implemented to obtain temperature errors under various environmental conditions. Then, a temperature error correction equation is obtained by fitting the CFD results using a genetic algorithm method. The low measurement error temperature sensor, a naturally ventilated radiation shield, a thermometer screen, and an aspirated temperature measurement platform are characterized in the same environment to conduct the intercomparison. The aspirated platform served as an air temperature reference. The mean temperature errors of the naturally ventilated radiation shield and the thermometer screen are 0.74 degrees C and 0.37 degrees C, respectively. In contrast, the mean temperature error of the low measurement error temperature sensor is 0.11 degrees C. The mean absolute error and the root mean square error between the corrected results and the measured results are 0.008 degrees C and 0.01 degrees C, respectively. The correction equation allows the temperature error of the low measurement error temperature sensor to be reduced by approximately 93.8%. The low measurement error temperature sensor proposed in this research may be helpful to provide a relatively accurate air temperature result. Published by AIP Publishing.