A Suspended Polymeric Microfluidic Sensor for Liquid Condition Monitoring

Abstract

The measurability of fluid properties like density and viscosity comes with a huge potential in numerous sensing applications, ranging from physical to biological to chemical. A vital quality of a lubricant is its viscosity. In general, liquids with high viscosity have molecules with higher cohesion capacity (higher flow resistance) while those with low viscosity have less cohesion ability, allowing for higher flow rates. This makes viscosity an essential indicator in condition monitoring programs, as information about the cohesive strength of the layers of a liquid can allow us to assess the liquid's ability to form a physical barrier between moving parts. This study proposes a microcantilever-based microfluidic platform that leverages the interaction between cal barrier flow and the bending characteristics of the beam for high sensitivity detection of changes in fluid properties, such as dynamic viscosity, density, and kinematic viscosity, from which valuable information about the health of structures engaging the liquid can be obtained. © 2022 International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure: Transferring Research into Practice, SHMII. All rights reserved.