New member of MEMS sensor: Speed ​​monitoring chip based on Bernoulli principle

According to reports, the U.S. Patent Office recently approved the patent application for the speed monitoring chip of Microfluidic Foundry. The MEMS sensor chip directly reads the speed of a moving object based on the Bernoulli principle, which is a powerful supplement to existing accelerometers and gyro sensors, and will open up many new applications. Microfluidic Foundry is currently working to develop its application in the intelligent monitoring of leakage monitoring and metering infrastructure for natural gas pipeline systems.

Natural gas transportation systems consist of a complex pipeline network. In the United States, according to the US Pipeline and Dangerous Security Administration, gas pipeline failures cause an average of 17 deaths per year, 68 injuries, and $133 million in property losses. There are still 3 billion U.S. dollars in lost natural gas and the fate of the gas is lost every year, affecting the bottom line of upstream and downstream companies. Pipeline leaks need to be monitored and prevented. Microfluidic Foundry recommends solving these requirements by developing sensor nodes that will read traffic information along natural gas pipelines, communicate with each other and determine if there is a leak, issue an alarm and behave in the event of a leak, and send information to the central hub and/or Or the internet. If successful, this work will be able to create breakthrough smart capabilities to support the smart infrastructure of natural gas transportation and there is a potentially surprising market that will help the oil, gas and chemical industries improve intelligence and efficiency, and prevent leakage of pollution surroundings.

Microfluidic Foundry's sensor microchip can directly read the gas velocity during installation (illustration). The proposed sensor node will include at least two sensor chips that will be installed along the natural gas pipeline at specific intervals. The chip will read the gas flow and communicate with each other. Any difference between the recorded gas flows, except for those consumed and stored, will indicate possible leaks along the pipeline between the sensor nodes.

The most common method for detecting natural gas leaks today is to perform manual inspections using low-sensitivity handheld devices. In the United States, light is applied to more than 500,000 wellheads. Nearly 3 million miles of major and service lines and the sheer volume and expansiveness make accurate and timely detection almost impossible. The proposed leak detection scheme will have a profound impact on how utility companies manage their pipelines. Microfluidic Foundry's initial market penetration route will be the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the natural gas pipeline and transportation industry. The advantage of this strategy is that it can be rapidly adopted through existing sales channels and the capital requirements are not high. When important additional values ​​for these sensor chips have been recorded on these channel partners, current manufacturers will have enough incentive to integrate the chips into their established product lines.