An internal miniature diversion channel-integrated piezoelectric airflow sensor

In this note, we propose and develop a piezoelectric airflow sensor with a novel configuration composed of a piezoelectric bimorph cantilever (PBC) and an internal miniature diversion channel (IMDC) structure. With the existence of the IMDC, the airflow velocity in the tapered region of the IMDC can be magnified compared to the inlet airflow velocity, and the vibration amplitude of the PBC can also be enlarged compared to that directly exposed to airflow with the same velocity. A fluid-solid interaction (FSI) model computed by the finite element method (FEM) is presented to clarify the physical mechanism contained in the proposed sensor system. The experimental results show that the developed piezoelectric airflow sensor simultaneously holds desirable dynamic and stable response characteristics to stable external airflows. Also, the fast response and recovery characteristics of the piezoelectric airflow sensor to abrupt external airflows have been demonstrated by the experiments.