Abstract
Density measurement of fluid is commonly used in our daily life. Traditional
measurement mainly depends on the density formula ρ= m/V or Archimedes’ law.
These two methods either take a lot of time or can not get a high accuracy. So, in recent
years, many new quick and precise ways has been developed, one of which makes use
of mechanical resonator sensor based on piezoelectric effect. This is a very fast
measurement for fluids’ density with high accuracy.
In this paper, a very thin glass is used for vibration plate with two thin PVDF
(Polyvinylidene fluoride) films glued on both sides of the glass as excitation and
detection of the sensor. PVDF has very high piezoelectric coefficient and nice flexibility.
Moreover, it is very soft, easily to be made into all kinds of shapes according to the
applications.
First of all, a mechanical resonator sensor is produced. And then the resonance
measurement system is built. Second, do a measurement in the air to get the resonance
frequency. Calculate the theoretical value of the resonance frequency. Make a
comparison between the measured value and theoretical one to decide whether this
sensor can be used or not. Third, put some small flour particles on the vibration plate
and measure the variation of resonance frequency to confirm the sensitivity. At last,
some measurement under different pressure and in different oils as well as the different
depth below the oil level can be done to work out the relationship between the
resonance frequency and the density of gas or liquid.
The output of this experiment has proved that mechanical resonator sensor made of
PVDF films has very high sensitivity and accuracy. This sensor can not only used for
the density measurement of gas, but also for the liquid.
Key words: gas, liquid, density measurement, resonator sensor, PVDF,
piezoelectric effect