Calibration of low-pressure MEMS gas sensor for detection of hydrogen gas. (15th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barzegar Gerdroodbary, M.; Anazadehsayed, A.; Hassanvand, A.; Moradi, R.
• Is Part Of: International journal of hydrogen energy. Volume 43:Number 11(2018)
• Page Start: 5770
• Page End: 5782
• Publication Date: 2018-03-15
• Subjects: Knudsen force -- DSMC -- Rarefied gas -- Low-pressure gas actuators -- MEMS; Hydrogen as fuel -- Periodicals; Hydrogène (Combustible) -- Périodiques; Hydrogen as fuel; Periodicals; 665.81
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.11.087
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-3199

Abstract

Abstract: Detection of hydrogen by sensors are significant for improvement and safe usage of hydrogen gas as an energy source. In this paper, the application of the MEMS gas sensor for detection of hydrogen gas is numerically studied to develop the application of this device in different industrial applications. The flow feature and force generation mechanism inside a rectangular enclosure with heat and cold arms as the non-isothermal walls are inclusively discussed. In this study, the pressure of hydrogen is varied from 62 to 1500 pa correspond to Knudsen number from 0.1 to 4.5 to investigate all characteristics of the thermal-driven force inside the MEMS sensor. In order to simulate a rarefied gas inside the micro gas detector, Boltzmann equations are applied to obtain high precision results. To solve these equations, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) approach is used as a robust method for the non-equilibrium flow field. The effects of length, thickness and temperature of arms are comprehensively investigated in different ambient pressures. In addition, the effect of various hydrogen concentrations on the Knudsen force is studied. Our findings show that maximum Knudsen force occurs at P = 387 pressure and intensifies when the length of the arms is increased from 50 μm to 150 μm. In addition, the obtained results demonstrate that the generated force is highly sensitive to hydrogen gas species and this enables device for detection of hydrogen gas. Highlights: DSMC is applied to investigate the capability of MEMS sensor for detection of Hydrogen. The pressure is varied from 62 to 1500 to determine the ability of the gas sensor. Effect of geometrical parameter and temperature is studied. The sensor is calibrated for H2 /N2 mixture.