Miniature flow-through resonator cell for density and viscosity sensing

Description

Miniaturized physical sensors for precise density and viscosity analysis are required as supplement or replacement for complex and expensive laboratory instruments. Utilizing miniature mechanical resonators as transducers, one can greatly reduce the necessary liquid volume, measurement time, and complexity of the experimental setup. In this contribution, we describe the development of a miniature, modular measurement setup for a large viscosity range. We devised and fabricated an inexpensive flow-through cell using milling technology of multiple PCB layers and Parafilm sealing for easy assembly and disassembly. The mechanical resonator is designed as a suspended plate using Lorentz force excitation and movement induction detection. The Q-factor of the resonator is evaluated and related to the density-viscosity product of different test liquids at multiple resonant modes of vibration at low operating frequencies for over a wide range of different viscosities.

Period	08 Sept 2010
Event title	Eurosensor XXIV Conference Linz, Austria, 2010
Event type	Conference
Location	AustriaShow on map