A novel target type low pressure-drop bidirectional optoelectronic air flow sensor for infant artificial ventilation: measurement principle and static calibration

An optoelectronic target-type volumetric air flow-rate transducer for bidirectional measurements is presented. The sensor is composed of a T-shaped target and two nominally identical LED-photodiode couples which are operated in differential mode. The sensitive surfaces of the photodiodes are differentially shadowed by the deflection of the target, which in turn depends on the gas flow-rate. The principle of operation is described in mathematical terms and the design parameters have been optimized in order to obtain the highest sensitivity along with minimal pressure drop and reduced dimensions. The sensor is placed in a 20 mm diameter hose and was tested with air flow-rate in the typical temperature range of mechanical ventilation between 20 and 40 C. The theoretical model was validated through experiments carried out in the volumetric flow range from -7.0 to 7.0 l min-1. The nonlinear behavior allows sensitivities equal to 0.6 V l-1 min for flow rates ranging from -2.0 to +2.0 l min-1, equal to 2.0 V l-1 min for flow rates ranging from -3.0 to -2.0 l min-1 and from +2.0 to +3.0 l min-1, up to 5.7 V l-1 min at higher flow rates ranging from -7.0 to -3.0 l min-1 and from 3.0 to 7.0 l min -1. The linear range extends from +3.0 to +7.0 l min-1 with constant sensitivity equal to 5.7 V l-1 min. The sensor is able to detect a flow-rate equal to 1.0 l min-1 with a sensitivity of about 400 mV l-1 min. The differential nature of the output minimizes the influence of the LEDs' power supply variations and allows to obtain a repeatability in the order of 3 of full scale output. The small pressure drop produced by the sensor placed in-line the fluid stream, of about 2.4 Pa at 7 l min-1, corresponds to a negligible fluid dynamic resistance lower than 0.34 Pa l-1 min.