Additive-manufactured piezo-excited cantilever beams for liquid viscosity measurement with thickness optimization

This study presents the structural optimization for the sensitivity improvement of an innovative viscosity and density sensor for viscous fluid characterization. Cantilever beams with varying steps are prototyped and fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM) techniques for experimental validation with laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). Experiment results agree with that of numerical simulation. Moreover, the creation of steps in thickness significantly improves the sensor’s performance and sensitivities. Step-in-thickness cantilever beam is more efficient in optimizing the relative sensitivity for viscosity sensing. The proposed structure associated with the theory provide a foundation for further design of resonant beam viscosity and density sensors.