Study of pressure measurement technique using MEMS pressure sensors integrated on built-in printed circuit board

Abstract Surface pressure measurement is an important part of aerodynamic research. In this study, a novel pressure measurement system based on Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) pressure sensors was designed and fabricated. The selected integrated silicon piezoresistive sensors are characterized by small size, low cost, high accuracy, and easy integration. Multi-channel simultaneous measurement of surface pressure is realized by integrating multiple sensors in a self-designed printed circuit board (PCB). A U-shape tube differential pressure device was used to calibrate the constructed pressure measurement system and the measured results are compared with those of commercial sensors. It is shown that the MEMS sensor output had good accuracy and linearity. The pressure measurement system was used to measure the pressure on the surface of a circular cylinder and a NACA0015 airfoil in a wind tunnel. The results further verified the feasibility and reliability of the present measurement system. Compared with other pressure measurement methods, the surface pressure measurement method based on MEMS sensors developed in this paper greatly reduces the cost, and at the same time has good customizability, which can effectively expand the application scenarios and scope of the pressure measurement technique.