Portable LTCC gas viscometer for determining Wobbe number

This work presents the continued development of an autonomous portable system for measuring the Wobbe number (calorific content) of gases for the purpose of determining the quality of natural gas. Past research has shown the Wobbe number can be determined if the dynamic viscosity is known. The sensor described here operates on this principle and is essentially a gas viscometer. The sensing components are integrated into single low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) device making the sensor compact and low cost. The sensor was placed within a compact enclosure with data acquisition electronics and was connected to a PC from which a LabVIEW program controls the sensors operation and records the data. It is an evolution of previous work where the sensor concept was proven using a non-integrated system. Preliminary results show the sensor could operate autonomously and was stable when measuring the viscosity of air.