Response of Surface Acoustic Wave Propagation to Gasoline Gum Deposited on the Surface of Piezoelectric Substrate

Abstract

Abstract In this article, theoretical analyses and experimental examinations have been performed on the response of surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagation to the film of gasoline gum deposited on the surface of a piezoelectric substrate, where the film of gasoline gum was thought of as viscoelastic. Using a commercial software (COMSOL Multiphysics), the influence of mass loading and viscoelasticity of the viscoelastic film on the SAW propagation has been numerically analyzed. It has been found that both the amplitude attenuation and the center frequency shift of SAW propagation change sensitively and monotonically with the change in mass loading and viscoelastic behavior of the viscoelastic film. To verify the theoretical analyses, the experimental examinations of the response of SAW propagation to the film of gasoline gum have been carried out. The experimental results show good consistency with the theoretical predictions. Both the amplitude attenuation and center frequency shift of SAW propagation indicate a significant sensitivity to change in the content of gasoline gum deposited on the surface of SAW propagation substrate. It is expected that the results obtained can provide a means for rapidly sensing the content of gum in automotive gasoline using the SAW technique.