A gas flow meter with linear sensitivity based on freely-suspended nanofilms of smectic liquid crystal

A gas flow meter with linear sensitivity based on freely-suspended nanofilms of smectic liquid crystal

A technique of mechanical airflow sensing based on coupling to a film of fluid smectic liquid crystals is presented. A gas jet confined to a narrow channel induces flow in a continuous, freely suspended film with racetrack geometry, whose velocity field is then mapped using video microscopy and part...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters Vol. 114; no. 16
Main Authors: Green, Adam A. S., Dutch, Evan, Qi, Zhiyuan, Briggs, Corrina, Park, Cheol S., Glaser, Matthew A., Maclennan, Joseph E., Clark, Noel A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 22-04-2019
Subjects:
Air flow
Applied physics
Flow measurement
Flowmeters
Gas flow
Gas jets
Measuring instruments
Particle tracking
Sensitivity
Smectic liquid crystals
Velocity distribution
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Summary:A technique of mechanical airflow sensing based on coupling to a film of fluid smectic liquid crystals is presented. A gas jet confined to a narrow channel induces flow in a continuous, freely suspended film with racetrack geometry, whose velocity field is then mapped using video microscopy and particle tracking techniques. Because the nanofilm has so little mass compared to the air, its velocity provides a direct readout of the velocity profile of the gas in the channel. This method of flow measurement offers several advantages over conventional mechanical flow meters: It has linear sensitivity, and so, it can operate at low flows, and the energy lost due to the measurement is negligible.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.5083967