A beam-membrane structure micromachined differential pressure flow sensor.

A beam-membrane structure micromachined flow sensor is designed, depending on the principle of differential pressure caused by the mass flow, which is directly proportional to the square flow rate. The FSI (fluid structure interaction) characteristics of the differential pressure flow sensor are investigated via numerical analysis and analog simulation. The working mechanism of the flow sensor is analyzed depending on the FSI results. Then, the flow sensor is fabricated and calibrated. The calibration results show that the beam-membrane structure differential pressure flow sensor achieves ideal static characteristics and works well in the practical applications.