The monitoring and control of gas flows are important in
industrial applications, including fluid transport and delivery and in medical
applications such as oxygen delivery and breath measurements. Flow sensors have
been built on many principles including mass transport, mechanical measurements
of flow and/or pressure, optical techniques, and many others. However, there
still exists a need for a flow sensor that is simple, compact, and inexpensive.
Researchers at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State
University have developed a novel method to measure flow rate using acoustic
resonance. This technique converts the measured flow rate into a sound. As the
sonic frequency is dependent on flow rate, the resultant signal can be measured
with relatively simple electronics to determine the flow rate.
The low cost and simplicity of this method give it many
potential applications, particularly in consumer and medical applications.
Additionally, this technology will be useful in developing countries and can
even be adapted to smart phones.
Potential Applications
- Consumer and medical device applications
- General flow measurements (including meteorological)
without complex equipment, such as would be useful in developing countries
- Adaptable to smart phones
Benefits and Advantages
- Simple, inexpensive, small form factor
- Easily incorporated into new designs or retrofitted into
existing designs
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For more information about the inventor(s) and their
research, please see
Dr. Tao's
directory webpage
Dr. Tao's laboratory
webpage
Dr.
Tao's Biodesign directory webpage
