Estimation of liquid properties by inverse problem analysis based on shear horizontal surface acoustic wave sensor responses

Abstract

A shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) sensor can detect liquid properties, such as viscosity, density, permittivity, and conductivity. The advantage of using the SH-SAW sensors is the simultaneous detection of the mechanical and electrical properties of liquids. In this paper, we proposed a method of estimating the density and viscosity of liquids based on the inverse problem analysis. Glycerol or ethanol aqueous solutions were measured. The estimated and literature values were compared. For glycerol aqueous solutions, when the concentration is low, those values agree well. However, when the concentration is high, those values did not agree because the bulk modulus of glycerin solutions cannot be assumed as constant. On the other hand, as the bulk modulus of ethanol aqueous solutions can be assumed to be the same as that of water, the deviations between those values were small. Therefore, the proposed method is effective when the bulk modulus is assumed as constant.