Fabrication of PDMS Dome-Shaped Membrane and its Performance Analysis Using FEA for Fluidic Based Flow Sensor

The dome-shaped membrane was designed for the fluidic based flow sensor for the underwater sensing. It has the diameter of 5mm and thickness within 0.2mm. The simple fabrication process for the dome shaped structure was demonstrated using casting and molding processes. The effect of the fabrication process was investigated by measuring the thickness of the dome-shaped membrane for different sample. For the performance analysis, the actual shape which was the same with the fabricated shaped was simulated and compared with the ideal shape using finite element analysis for the same input flow rate. The membrane sensitivity of the actual shape decreased from 163.4 μm/ms-1 to 133.33 μm/ms-1 compared to the ideal shape based on the displacement of the membrane over input fluid velocity.