Abstract
Heat flux sensors (HFSs) have potential in enabling applications that require direct and instantaneous tracking of thermal energy transfer. To facilitate the widespread use of the sensors, the sensors have to be robust and feasible to implement, while maintaining high sensitivity, fast response time, and low thermal obtrusiveness. However, most of the currently available HFSs are either challenging to manufacture or ill-suited for surface heat flux measurement because of their mechanical or thermal characteristics. In this article, the design of a novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) HFS structure intended for surface heat flux measurements is presented. A prototype batch is manufactured and the electrical performance of the prototype sensors is compared with commercially available HFSs. Results show that sensors with similar sensitivity as commercial sensors can be made by using MEMS methods.
Highlights
D IRECT measurement of heat transfer is being utilized in a growing number of applications over various fields of industry and science
These results suggest that the manufactured prototype sensors have a significantly faster response time than that of the reference sensors
The characterization results show that the developed sensors have a surface-area-dependent sensitivity and response time comparable with commercial Heat flux sensors (HFSs)
Summary
D IRECT measurement of heat transfer is being utilized in a growing number of applications over various fields of industry and science. Traditional temperature measurements can be used to infer the magnitude of heat transfer under certain conditions, they are often insufficient in terms of accuracy or impractical to execute. In such situations, the use of a heat flux sensor (HFS) is often preferred [1], [2]. The ability to instantaneously track changes in heat transfer in a noninvasive way has resulted in a wide range of applications for HFSs. For example, HFSs have been used for direct vaporization enthalpy measurement [5], combustion measurements [3], thermal monitoring of power electronics [6], skin surface heat flux-based energy expenditure and core body temperature monitoring [7], [8], battery charging monitoring [9], and building energy performance assessment [10]. This article is extended from a conference publication presented at IEEE I2MTC 2020 [12]
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