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An apparatus for use in an industrial process for measuring a velocity of a fluid moving in a pipe includes a probe disposed in said fluid flow. The probe includes a tube and an array of at least two sensors disposed at different axial locations along the tube. Each sensor measures inhomogeneous pre

An apparatus for use in an industrial process for measuring a velocity of a fluid moving in a pipe includes a probe disposed in said fluid flow. The probe includes a tube and an array of at least two sensors disposed at different axial locations along the tube. Each sensor measures inhomogeneous pressure disturbances at respective axial locations. Each sensor further provides a pressure signal. The apparatus also includes a signal processor, responsive to the pressure signals, to provide a signal indicative of the velocity of the fluid. In one embodiment, the sensors filter out wavelengths above a predetermined wavelength. At least one of the sensors comprises a strain gage disposed on a surface of the pipe. In one embodiment, the strain gage comprises a fiber optic strain gage. The apparatus may be configured to detect the velocity of any desired inhomogeneous pressure field in the flow.

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What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for use in an industrial process for measuring a velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe, said apparatus comprising: a probe portion disposed in said fluid flow, said probe portion including: a tube; and an array of at least two sensors attached to said tube and di

What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for use in an industrial process for measuring a velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe, said apparatus comprising: a probe portion disposed in said fluid flow, said probe portion including: a tube; and an array of at least two sensors attached to said tube and disposed at different axial locations along said tube, each of said sensors measuring inhomogeneous pressure disturbances at each of said respective axial locations, and each of said sensors providing a pressure signal; wherein the tube and the array of at least two sensors are operable to be disposed within the pipe, in the fluid flow; a signal processor, responsive to said pressure signals, which provides a velocity signal indicative of said velocity of said fluid in said pipe; and a controller that is operable to provide a control signal, in response to said velocity signal, to a flow device relating to the industrial process, which flow device controls the velocity of the fluid. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is solid to form a rod. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is hollow. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is filled with a gas. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is filled with a liquid. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is filled with a fluid. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is comprised of a tube having at least one rounded closed end. 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tube is comprised of a tube having open ends, and wherein said tube is operable to be disposed within the pipe in a manner such that a portion of the fluid flow passes through tube and the array of sensors are operable to sense the portion of the fluid flow passing through the tube. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said signal processor comprises logic for providing, in response to said pressure signals, a signal indicative of said velocity of said fluid flowing through said tube. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said array of sensors measure a pressure variation in said fluid at each sensor to produce a pressure variation signal, and wherein said signal processor computes phase fractions of constituents in said fluid using said pressure variation signals. 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said inhomogeneous pressure disturbances are naturally occurring within the fluid. 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said inhomogeneous pressure disturbances are stochastic within the fluid. 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said inhomogeneous pressure disturbances comprise vortices. 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fluid comprises a fluid mixture. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said velocity signal relates to said velocity of a constituent in the fluid mixture. 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fluid is comprised of any combination of oil, gas and water. 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said array of sensors is configured to filter out wavelengths above a predetermined wavelength. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said sensors is a strain gauge. 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said strain gauge is selected from a group consisting of a piezoelectric strain gauge, a capacitive strain gauge, a piezoresistive strain gauge, and an accelerometer. 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said signal processor comprises a cross-correlator, and wherein said array of sensors are in communication with the cross-correlator and said cross-correlator computes a time delay between at least two of said pressure signals. 21. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a volumetric flow meter, and wherein said signal processor provides a signal indicative of said volumetric flow rate of said fluid flowing in said pipe. 22. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said sensors measures an acoustic pressure and provides a signal indicative of an acoustic noise. 23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said array of sensors are spaced sufficiently such that an entire length of said array of sensors is at least a significant fraction of a measured wavelength of acoustic waves being measured. 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said signal processor comprises logic for calculating a frequency based signal for each of said acoustic pressure signals. 25. A method for controlling the velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe in an industrial process, the method comprising: providing a probe portion that includes a tube and an array of at least two sensors, which array is attached to the tube at different axial locations along a length of the tube; disposing the tube and the array of at least two sensors within the pipe in the fluid flow; sensing the fluid flow using the array of sensors to detect inhomogeneous pressure disturbances at each of the respective axial locations along the tube, and creating pressure signals indicative of the sensed fluid flow at each axial location; processing the pressure signals to produce a velocity signal indicative of the velocity of the fluid in the pipe; and controlling the velocity of the fluid flow within the pipe by adjusting a flow device in response to the velocity signal.