Density measurement sensitivity of micro-cantilevers influenced by shape dimensions and operation modes

•This paper presented an analysis of fluid density measurement sensitivity in a magnetically actuated piezoresistive micro-cantilever sensor under different shapes and modes.•A coupled fluid-solid simulation was implemented using ANSYS multi-physics software to analyze the density measurement sensitivity, which was validated by the experiment results.•The findings can be used to improve the performance of the sensor, and the proposed coupled fluid-solid simulation method has an important guiding significance in the aspect of micro-cantilever design.

The coupled fluid-solid simulations have been developed to analyze the density measurement sensitivity (DMS) of resonant micro-cantilevers with different shapes, dimensions and operation modes. The analytical formulas have been established to illustrate the relationship of resonant frequency shifts and densities of working fluids. The coupled fluid-solid simulation analyses and experimental results have been used to study the effects of micro-cantilevers with different dimensions on the DMS under bending and torsion modes. The influences of micro-cantilevers with different shapes on the DMS have been also discussed and analyzed. It is concluded that the length and free end width of micro-cantilever as well as operation mode are the key factors affecting the DMS. In addition, the proposed coupled fluid-solid simulation method is an important instruction in the aspect of micro-cantilever design. At the last, the resonant frequency stability and resolution of sensor were analyzed to better understand the sensor's performance.