Bio-inspired PDMS microcantilever flow meter

Flow rate is one of the most important parameters used in various applications, including biomedical engineering and industrial applications. PDMS has been considered a biocompatible material for making flow sensors. Measuring low flows is one of the upcoming challenges in using this type of flowmeter. This study aims to examine the potential of PDMS microcantilevers to measure the low flow rates in microfluidic networks for biological applications. For this purpose, this study attempts to increase the sensitivity and accuracy of a PDMS microcantilever-based flow meter. The effect of the microcantilever’s shape on the device’s sensitivity is investigated. The fluid interaction with the PDMS structure is studied using the finite element method (FEM) to measure the beam's deformation. Results indicate that the best shape for the cantilever in the flow meter to have the highest accuracy and sensitivity is the bio-mimic model inspired by octopus arms. The sensitivity and accuracy of the flow sensor using this model increased by 157% and 53.8% compared to those in previous models, respectively.