Patent No. 12,253,394

Description:
The voltage output from a piezoelectric sensor placed in a test section is used to determine flow velocity.

Abstract:
In many applications in literature, the piezoelectric effect is used in order to produce a voltage that is captured for energy harvesting. However, for this application, the voltage output is used for a different purpose. A piezoelectric cantilever beam is placed in a flow stream and used to measure the velocity of a fluid. The piezoelectric is thought to be advantageous due to its fast response time, potential durability at higher temperatures, and self-powered characteristics. As the sensor is placed in the flow stream it is exposed to different levels of drag force and other flow parameters that mechanically strain the material. This strain results in voltage output from the piezoelectric. The current work proposes to use the voltage output as an indicator of the amount of flow in the measurement section. The higher the flow rate (or velocity) the higher the voltage output from the sensor, which can be calibrated.


UTEP Docket No: 2020-004