Development of a micro liquid-level sensor for harsh environments using a periodic heating technique

This paper describes the development and testing of a novel micro thermal sensor for point sensing of lubrication oil level in industrial compressors. The results reported in this work can be applied to various harsh environments that feature high temperature/pressure, limited space and flow/vibration. The sensor employs an ac (alternating current) thermal technique with a single heating/sensing element. As the sensing scheme is based on the so-called three-omega method, the sensing signal is noise-resistant and hardly affected by flow in the liquid being measured. Experiments with DI water, ethanol and ethylene glycol confirm that the sensor performance is satisfactory under atmospheric pressure. Also, to mimic harsh conditions as in an industrial compressor, tests are performed in a pressure vessel containing R410A gas and polyvinylether lubrication oil under high temperatures and pressures. The results indicate that the sensitivity and response time of the developed sensor are appropriate for practical usage in harsh environments. As the sensor can be easily mass-produced at low cost using photolithography, it has strong potential for industrial applications