Fabrication and tests of a MEMS-based double-beam cantilever flow sensor with clarifying of temperature effect

This paper presents the fabrication process of a MEMS-based cantilever flow sensor (CFS) with double cantilever beams and the test results of CFS in a wind-tunnel. Four boron-doped piezoresistive strain gauges at the base of each cantilever beam compose the four arms of the Wheatstone bridge. The output of CFS will change signs as piezoresistors at the base of the cantilever beam undergo compressive or tensile stresses. Analyses and experimental results suggest that double-beam CFS can be applied not only as a flow direction discriminator but also as a wall skin-friction sensor, which could be used in the system of active flow control for drag reduction and separation suppression in the boundary layers on a wing section. Temperature effect is commonly encountered in the application of MEMS-based piezoresistive strain gauges. By comparing the outputs of CFS when front side and back side of it facing the flow respectively, we are able to clarify the contribution of temperature effect on the output of CFS sensor and give more accurate results on flow measurement.