Numerical Simulations and Experimental Studies on a New Biological Inspiration Flow Sensor

摘要

Flow sensing is important for many environmental monitoring and biomedicine applications. This work offers an alternative method for flow sensing, a new type artificial lateral line flow sensors, which based on a biological inspiration. In this paper, first, FVM-finite volume method-analysis software FLUENT was applied to analyze the flow phenomenon of flow over the flow sensor, and then, a simulation curve between differential pressures of the flow sensor and the mean free-stream velocity was attained. Second, design for individual lateral line sensor nodes are discussed in this paper, along with preliminary characterization results, A prototype artificial lateral line flow sensors are developed. In measuring, the volume flow rate causes a deflection of the cantilever, and strain of the cantilever is detected by the Piezoresistance Bridge. The size of the sensing chip is 2mm x4mm. The sensors with different detecting structures achieve different measuring ranges.