LSM1000 fuel-measurement product

LSM1000 is a capacitive fuel and oil level sensor from Reventec for uncrewed aircraft and other defence platforms. It is a threaded probe that measures the level of liquid in a tank continuously, with an integrated temperature sensor, and it is built to the length the customer specifies, up to 450 mm.

The sensor uses solid-state capacitive sensing, so it has no moving parts and needs little maintenance. Accuracy is plus or minus 1 percent of reading, with a plus or minus 0.5 percent variant. The measurement rate is 100 Hz. Because capacitive sensing does not depend on a float, readings are unaffected by sensor orientation, including inverted flight attitude. The probe is calibrated in the specific fluid it will measure and works with dielectric liquids including fuel, oil, water and coolants, for example gasoline, AVGAS, JET-A, JP-4 and JP-8. The housed electronics add a PT-1000 temperature detector (Class B, 1/3 DIN) for liquid temperature.

Installation is through an AN-10 threaded mount, which keeps the footprint small. The probe has a carbon-fibre outer layer that adds strength without extra weight. The sensor is supplied with a flying lead as standard and can be fitted with other connectors, including MIL-DTL-38999. The ingress protection rating is IP68. The operating range is -40 C to +125 C, with a -55 C to +150 C variant, and the tank pressure rating is 2 bar differential, with up to 10 bar on request.

Output options are an analog 0 V to 5 V signal, typically calibrated at 0.25 V empty and 4.75 V full, CAN, or analog and CAN together. The electronics sit in the sensor head, so no external processing unit is needed between the probe and the flight computer or engine monitoring unit.

Reventec lists EMC testing to MIL-STD-461G (Army Ground limits CS114, CS115, CS116, RE102, RS103, RS101, CE102 and CS101) and to RTCA DO-160F Section 25 ESD Category A.

Typical applications are fuel and oil level monitoring in tanks of fixed-wing and rotary uncrewed aircraft with piston or turbine engines, where level data supports range estimation, mission readiness checks and maintenance planning.