Simulation and Design of Double-Winding Thermal Flow Sensor Based on COMSOL

Based on the two traditional flow sensor design methods of constant temperature difference and constant power, a double-winding distributed thermal flow sensor is proposed. The sensor measures the gas mass flow by heating the double-winding with constant power and collecting the sensor temperature using double-winding at the same time. Based on the principle of fluid flow and heat transfer, the flow measurement principle is analyzed, the temperature field of the sensor is simulated by COMSOL software, and the sensor structure is optimized to provide a reliable basis for sensor design. In order to obtain the correction formula between the outside temperature and the measured value of the sensor, a simulation calculation is carried out for different outside temperatures. Finally, a double-winding flow sensor is designed according to the optimization results. The sensor was tested on a standard flow output device to verify the feasibility of the sensor for flow measurement. The outside temperature test is carried out to verify that the sensor has good temperature adaptability. The results shows that the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The error is less than ±10% in the middle range of the sensor.