The effect of sensor structure and coplanar electrode for capacitive based flow sensor

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of the capacitive based flow sensor using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and mathematical equation approach. The CFD simulations for different types of sensor structure were carried out. Pressure and velocity of the fluid were varied in order to study the hydrodynamic parameter such as displacement and drag force. For the coplanar electrode, width of electrode and half gap between electrodes were varied for capacitive response using mathematical approach. Based on the simulation, the displacement of the dome increases as the pressure increases. The result shows that the most suitable thickness of the dome is 0.1 mm based on the displacement and the strain. Meanwhile for the coplanar electrode, the width and half gap showed a significant effect on the capacitance response.