Numerical optimisation of flow-rate microsensors using circuit simulation tools

Abstract

Numerical simulation results of the steady state thermal behavior in flow-rate microsensors are presented. The results have been obtained using a circuit level CAD (computer-aided design) tool. The various heat transfer mechanisms are suitably reduced into a circuit model by using the linear and nonlinear circuit elements available in SPICE. Good agreement between simulations and measurements has been obtained for realistic values of physical parameters. Both laminar and turbulent gas flow conditions are considered.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>