C. Harrison, M. Sullivan
Schlumberger-Doll Research,
United States
Keywords: microfluidic, phase behavior, pressure, density
Summary:
We present a microfluidic Coriolis effect flowmeter that is simple to assemble, operates at elevated temperature and pressure (8000 psi), and can be operated with a lock-in amplifier or custom electronics. The sensor has a flow rate sensitivity greater than 2 degrees of phase shift per 1 g/min of mass flow and is benchmarked with flow rates ranging from 0.05 to 2.0 g/min. The internal volume is 15 microliters and uses off-the-shelf optical components to measure the tube motion. We demonstrate that fluid density can be calculated from the frequency of the resonating element with proper calibration. The ability to confirm and measure the mass flow through microfluidic systems is instrumental to assuring minimal contamination by a previously measured sample, which would significantly bias phase behavior.