Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

A structural tailored piezo actuated cantilever shaped 2-DOF

resonators for viscosity and density sensing in liquids
S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki ∗
Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, 620015, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Structural tailoring of cantilever shaped two degrees of freedom (2-DOF) resonators for the measurement
Received 28 December 2015 of liquid viscosity and density is seldom explained. In this paper, a structural tailored 2-DOF cantilever
Received in revised form 4 May 2016 shaped resonators for the determination of viscosity and density of liquids and its performance is inves-
Accepted 29 May 2016
tigated. The 2-DOF resonator consists of a trapezoidal shaped driver and absorber mass of identical
Available online 11 June 2016
frequency with a mass disparity. The driver and absorber mass are connected by a strong mechanical
coupling unit which forms the 2-DOF trapezoidal cantilever resonant system (2-DOF TCR). The measure-
Keywords:
ment principle is based on tracking the resonant characteristics of 2-DOF TCR system which depends on
Cantilever
Density
the viscosity and density of liquids it operates in. The system is evaluated for its performance in liquids
Piezoelectric of viscosity ranging from 0.23 mPas to 1400 mPas and density ranging from 713 kg/m3 to 1261 kg/m3 .
Resonator The resonant characteristics are compared with the existing 2-DOF rectangular cantilever resonant sys-
Trapezoidal tem (2-DOF RCR) and 1-DOF rectangular cantilever resonant system (1-DOF RCR) of same length. The
Viscosity theoretical results obtained from this study are in good agreement with the experimental results and the
2-DOF 2-DOF TCR system shows better sensitivity in determining the liquid viscosity and density.
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In recent years dynamic response of resonating cantilevers is
utilized in wide variety of applications mainly in the measure-
ment of liquid properties such as viscosity, density, temperature
and pressure due to their high mass change sensitivity [1]. Online
measurement of viscosity and density with the use of resonating
cantilevers provides a powerful tool for monitoring the quality,
property changes of liquids caused by chemical reaction and solid-
ification etc. [2]. The viscosity and density is determined typically
from the frequency response of the resonating cantilevers, since the
frequency measurement offers high precision, fast response time,
high sensitivity and noise immunity [3]. The dynamic response of
a cantilever sensor depends on the liquid viscosity and density it
operates in. When the cantilever sensor is immersed in liquid, vis-
cous drag on oscillating cantilevers causes both inertial effect which
leads to shift in resonant frequency and a dissipative effect that
alters the width of the resonant peak. Hence by tracking the res-
onant frequency and the quality factor (which are coupled each
other) from the dynamic behavior of cantilever sensor immersed
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sathiyaeie07@gmail.com (S. Sathiya), bvas@nitt.edu
(B. Vasuki).
in liquid, the density and viscosity can be determined [4]. Several
studies have been done to simultaneously measure the viscosity
and density by relating quality factor changes with viscosity and
resonant frequency shift with density [2,4–9]. At present, several
theoretical models are available for the calculation of viscosity and
density from the frequency response of cantilever sensor to sepa-
rate the dissipative and inertial effects of viscosity and density in
liquids. The most simplistic model makes the heuristic analogy with
the dynamical motion of sphere through viscous liquid which has
been widely used in many fields and applications [10]. The perfor-
mance of the cantilevers is determined by various parameters such
as resonant amplitude, quality factor and resonant frequency. The
surrounding liquid medium damp the cantilever vibration which
lowers the sensitivity, which results in poor performance of can-
tilevers and adversely affects the sensing limit of the viscosity
and density measurement [11–13]. Sensitivity can be improved by
enhancing the resonant parameters such as resonant frequency,
quality factor and resonant amplitude. As these parameters depend
upon the stiffness and effective mass of the cantilever beam, the
sensitivity of the cantilever sensors strongly depend upon their
geometries [1,11,14]. Few researchers have investigated the meth-
ods to improve the sensitivity of cantilever sensor by changing the
geometry, operating them at higher resonant modes and altering
the shape of the cantilevers [15–17]. A previous work [15] has

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2016.05.052
0924-4247/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
278 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288

Table 1
Properties and dimensions of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR system.

Aluminium Cantilever Driver Mass Absorber Mass Coupling Unit 1-DOF RCR Units
Beam
2-DOF TCR 2-DOFRCR 2-DOF TCR 2-DOF RCR 2-DOF TCR 2-DOF RCR

Length 97.5(Ldt ) 97.5 (Ld ) 97.5 (Lat ) 97.5(La ) 5 (Lct ) 5 (Lc ) 200 (Lb ) mm
Width 25 (wdt1 ),12 (wdt2 ) 25 (wd ) 5 (wat1 ), 2.3(wat2 ) 5 (wa ) 2.5 (wct ) 2.5 (wc ) 15 (wb ) mm
Thickness 1 (tdt ) 1 (td ) 1 (tat ) 1 (ta ) 1 (tct ) 1 (tc ) 1 (tb ) mm
Density 2700 (␳dt ) 2700 (␳d ) 2700 (␳at ) 2700 (␳a ) 2700 (␳ct ) 2700 (␳c ) 2700 (␳b ) kg/m3
Young’s Modulus 71(Edt ) 71(Ed ) 71 (Eat ) 71(Ea ) 71(Ect ) 71 (Ec ) 71 (Eb ) GPa

d,a,c represents driver mass, absorber mass and coupling unit respectively and t represents 2-DOF TCR, 1,2 represents wider width and narrow width respectively.

been done to overcome the additional resistance offered by liq- 2. Materials and methods
uid damping by shortening the length of the cantilever beam. By
decreasing the length by 10% would increase the resonant fre- 2.1. Design
quency by 23% which also have less surface area to interact with the
liquid medium, results in decrease in liquid damping and increase A measurement system based on 2-DOF trapezoidal cantilever
in quality factor. But shortening of the length would greatly reduce shaped resonator (2-DOF TCR) for the application of simultaneous
the resonant amplitude of the cantilever vibration. Few studies measurement of viscosity and density is schematically shown in
illustrate that when the cantilever sensors are working in air or Fig. 1(a) and (b) and the structure of 1-DOF RCR and 2-DOF RCR is
liquids, the quality factor at higher mode is higher than the fun- schematically shown in Fig. 1(c). The 2-DOF TCR is designed with a
damental mode [17,18]. One preliminary study [19] showed that trapezoidal shaped driver and absorber mass with a small coupling
increasingly trapezoidal shaped cantilever can generate energy unit which are made up of aluminium. To attain the identical natu-
more than twice that of the rectangular beam with same volume ral frequency of driver and absorber mass, the length and thickess of
of PZT [19]. In [20], an analytical comparison between a rectangu- the two masses are designed to be same. The difference in the width
lar cantilever and a triangular cantilever concludes that triangular of the driver and absorber mass provides a mass ratio ‘␣ = Md /Ma ’
cantilever beam has higher strain and maximum deflection for a between them, which is always set to be ␣ > 1 [22]. The driver mass
given load when compared to a rectangular beam. is clamped at one end and the absorber mass is connected to the free
On the other hand, in 1-DOF cantilever beams there is trade-off end of the driver mass with the strong mechanical coupling unit of
between parameters such as deflection and the resonant frequency. negligible mass. A piezoelectric patch bonded on the top surface of
Presently, there is a need for resonators that is capable of pro- the driver mass at a distance of r1 from the clamped end, acts as
ducing larger displacement with low drive voltage. The dual mass an actuator. The properties and dimensions of the 2-DOF TCR and
resonator provides a potential solution to this problem. A 2-DOF piezoelectric patch are given in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.
resonating system offers much larger resonant amplitude by the
use of mechanical coupling amplification effect. The 2-DOF sys-
tem consists of two spring mass damping units with identical or 2.2. Principle
close natural frequency and disparity in mass, when big mass unit
is driven to resonance, much enlarged resonant amplitude of the The principle of the measurement system is dependent on the
small unit is obtained [21]. The large area of the big mass unit is frequency response of 2-DOF TCR which is significantly affected by
suitable for accommodating actuation components. The resonance the viscosity and density of liquid. When the actuation frequency
enhancement of micromachined resonators with cantilever shaped ωa coincides with the natural frequency ωn of the cantilever, the
2-DOF resonator is presented in [22]. The design and fabrication of resonance occurs and its parameters such as resonant frequency ωr ,
2-DOF based micro gyroscope is reported in [23]. A 2-DOF reso- resonant amplitude Xr and quality factor Qr are measured in air.
nant sensor for mass and pressure measurement is investigated in Subsequently the cantilever tip is immersed in the sample liquid
[24]. The piezoelectric 1-DOF cantilever based liquid pumping sys- of density ␳ and viscosity ␮ at a depth of hd . As the cantilever tip
tem is introduced [25,26] and the performance is enhanced with vibrates within the liquid, its dynamic behavior is altered due to
2-DOF rectangular cantilever resonant system (2-DOF RCR) in [27]. the viscosity and density of the surrounding liquid medium. The
No works have been reported so far to improve the performance liquid forces offer an effective added mass (inertial forces) due to
of 2-DOF cantilever shaped resonators in determining the density the density and energy dissipation (friction force) due to viscosity
and viscosity of liquids. of the liquid and these forces significantly affect the ωr and the Qr
In this work, a 2-DOF cantilever shaped resonant sensor with of the cantilever structure. In this study the viscosity and density is
increasingly trapezoidal shape is designed, modeled and presented determined by tracking the resonant frequency and quality factor
for the determination of liquid viscosity and density sensing with an of the 2-DOF TCR system during the immersion in liquid.
improvement in the resonant frequency, tip deflection and quality
factor. The performance is compared with the 2-DOF rectangu-
lar shaped and 1-DOF rectangular shaped cantilever. The design,
Table 2
sensing principle and the experimental setup of 2-DOF TCR based
Properties and dimensions of piezoelectric patch.
measurement system is explained in section 2. The theoretical
model of 2-DOF TCR system is derived with and without the can- Description Symbol Value Units
tilever tip surrounded by the liquid medium and it is described in Piezoelectric Patch (PZT-5H)
section 3. The simulated results from the theoretical model and the Length Lp 76.5 mm
measured experimental results from practical model of the mea- Width wp 13 mm
Thickness tp 0.5 mm
surement system are presented and discussed in detail in section
Density ␳p 7500 kg/m3
4. The section 5 concludes the performance of the 2-DOF TCR is bet- Young’s modulus Ep 47.62 GPa
ter than that of 2-DOF RCR system and 1-DOF RCR system in liquid Piezoelectric charge constant d31 −265 (10−12 C/N)
viscosity and density sensing. represents Piezo patch.
p
 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288 279

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram illustrating (a) Measurement setup for the liquid viscosity and density with 2-DOF TCR (b) Tip displacements of 2-DOF TCR with different liquids
(c) Different cantilever structures for performance comparison (i) 1-DOF RCR (ii) 2-DOF RCR (iii) 2-DOF TCR.

2.3. Experimental setup and procedure
The measurement setup (in Fig. 1(a)) for liquid viscosity and
density is practically developed in the laboratory for experimental
evaluation as illustrated in Fig. 2(a) and the fabricated model of 2-
DOF TCR is shown in Fig. 2(b). The experimental setup consists of
an arbitrary waveform generator (Agilent 33220A) which is used
to apply the input voltage Va to the piezoelectric actuator through
a high voltage amplifier (TREK model 10/10B) to vibrate the 2-DOF
TCR system at resonance. The mass of the driver, absorber and cou-
pling unit of 2-DOF TCR system are designed as 4.9 g, 0.96 g and
0.03 g respectively and the mass ratio ␣ is found to be 5. The piezo-
ceramic of type SP-5 H which is equivalent to NAVY TYPE VI from
Sparkler Ceramics Pvt. Ltd, India is used as an actuator. The piezo-
electric actuator is bonded on the top surface of the driver mass
near the fixed end using araldite AV8503 resin epoxy adhesive. A
laser displacement sensor (Acuity AR200) is positioned to focus on
the free end of the absorber mass to measure its tip displacement
with the accuracy of ±0.2% and the resolution of 0.0076 mm. The
measured signals from the laser sensor is acquired through data
acquisition system MCC DAQ 1408FS and it is stored in PC for per-
formance evaluation. Similarly the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR are
designed as per the dimensions given in Table 1 and their fabricated
models are shown in Fig. 2(b). The frequency response of 2-DOF
TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR are observed in air at 3rd mode
of vibration. The sample liquids of different viscosity ranging from
0.23 mPas to 1400 mPas and density ranging from 713 kg/m3 to
1261 kg/m3 are chosen for performance evaluation in a controlled
room temperature of 20◦ C. The sample liquids are grouped as aque-
ous based liquids (group I) and oil based liquids (group II) which
are listed in Table 3. The altered frequency response of 2-DOF TCR
due to the surrounding liquid medium is measured for group I and
II liquids and the performance is compared with the 2-DOF RCR and
1-DOF RCR.
280 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288

Fig. 2. (a) Experimental setup of the measurement system (b) Fabricated models of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR, 1-DOF RCR.

3. Theoretical model beam elements as shown in Fig. 3(c). The longitudinal axis of a
regular beam element lies along the X-axis. The element has con-
The 2-DOF TCR system is designed with a trapezoidal stant moment of inertia, modulus of elasticity, mass density and
shaped driver mass (Md ) and absorber mass (Ma ) of same length. The element is assumed to have two degrees of freedom at
fundamental natural frequency, which is calculated as each node (node 1, node 2): a transverse deflection (w1 , w2 ) and
2
 2

fn = 1 Edt Idt1
= 1 Eat Iat1
, Adt1 , Aat1 are the cross sectional an angle of rotation or slope (␪1 , ␪2 ). Corresponding to the two
2 dt Adt1 L4 2 4
at Aat1 Lat
dt degrees of freedom, a transverse shear force (F1 , F2 ) and bending
wdt1 t 3 w t3 moment (M1 , M2 ) act at each nodal point and the lb , lp are the
area of the driver and absorber mass, Idt1 = 12 dt ,Iat1 = at1
12
at
are
the moment of inertia of the driver and absorber mass respectively length of the each regular beam element, piezoelectric element
[28]. The two masses are attached by a strong mechanical coupling respectively.
unit and the mass ratio between them is ␣ ≈ 5:1. As the driver mass The piezoelectric element is assumed to have two structural
is actuated at resonance, the vibration energy is equally delivered degrees of freedom at each nodal point which are transverse deflec-
onto the two masses by the strong mechanical coupling unit. Since tion (w1 , w2 ), angle of rotation or slope (␪1 , ␪2 ) and an electrical
the absorber mass is small when compared to the driver mass, degree of freedom which is the actuator voltage Va . The dynamic
its resonant amplitude is enlarged. As the mechanical coupling model of the 2-DOF TCR system is obtained by using the piezoelec-
is between the driver and absorber mass, two resonant peaks tric and regular beam elements [27]. The dynamic model is given
(first, second split mode frequencies (f1 , f2 )) occur at both sides as
of the initial natural frequency (fn ) of 1-DOF cantilever with the Me q + Ce q̇ + Ke q = fact (1)
dimensions of either only the driver mass or absorber mass. The
2-DOF TCR system model is developed using 6 piezoelectric beam where Me , Ke and Ce are the effective mass, stiffness and structural
elements which includes actuator dynamics and 16 regular beam modal damping matrices of the 2-DOF TCR and fact is the actuation
elements based on Euler-Bernoulli theory assumptions. The model force vector. To observe the first two split mode and 3rd mode fre-
of the trapezoidal driver mass is replaced by an equivalent stepped quencies of the system, the equation of motion is transformed to the
beam, composed of 10 uniform beam elements and in a similar reduced modal space form using the transformation, q = Tg, where
way the trapezoidal absorber mass is composed of 10 uniform T is the modal matrix containing the eigenvectors of the first  two
beam elements [29,30], to determine the frequency response g1
characteristics of 2-DOF TCR system with traditional finite element split mode and 3rd mode frequencies and g is given as g = g2 .
procedure as shown in Fig. 3(a). The region of 2-DOF TCR, where g3
the piezoelectric patch is bonded on the top surface of the regular The transformed system is
beam element is modeled by the piezoelectric elements as shown M̄e g + C̄e ġ + K̄e g = f̄act
in Fig. 3(b). The rest of the structure is modeled by the regular
where M̄e = TT Me T, K̄e = TT Ke T, C̄e = ␣M̄e + ␤K̄e , f̄act = TT fact T are
(m × m) diagonal matrices, ␣ and ␤ are proportional damp-
Table 3 ing constants and C̄e is the structural modal damping matrix.
Viscosity and density of group I and group II liquids.
The damping constants ␣, ␤ determined from experimentation
Liquids Viscosity (20 ◦ C) Density (20 ◦ C) through half power bandwidth method [31] are found to be 0.805,
1.05 × 10−6 for 2-DOF TCR system respectively.
Group – I        
Diethyl ether 0.23 mPas 713 kg/m3 X1 Ẋ1 X4 Ẋ4
Water 1.002 mPas 1000 kg/m3 Let g = x,g = x = X2 , ġ = ẋ = Ẋ2 = X5 , g = x = Ẋ5
Glycerol 20% 1.76 mPas 1021 kg/m3
X3 Ẋ3 X6 Ẋ6
Glycerol 40% 3.72 mPas 1089 kg/m3
Glycerol 60% 10.8 mPas 1178 kg/m3 The state space model of the dynamic system in Eq. (2) is derived
Glycerol 80% 60.1 mPas 1208 kg/m3 as
Glycerol 100% 1400 mPas 1261 kg/m3    
0 I 0
Group – II Ẋ = X(t) + u(t) (3)
Sesame oil 65 mPas 927 kg/m3
−M̄−1
e K̄e −M̄−1
e C̄e M̄−1 T
e T h
Gear oil SAE 20 170 mPas 900 kg/m3
Engine oil 15 W 40 283 mPas 878 kg/m3
 
y(t) = 0 PT T X(t), f act = hVa (t)
Gear oil SAE 90 700 mPas 850 kg/m3
 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288 281

Fig. 3. Piezoelectric actuated 2-DOF TCR-dynamic model (a) Elements of the dynamic model (b) Piezoelectric element (c) Regular beam element.

where PT and h are the constant vectors and Va is the actuation From the Eqs. (5), (6) and (7), the resonant frequency and the
voltage. Similarly, the 3rd mode of vibration is obtained using the damping factor of the cantilever with its tip surrounded by the
model for the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR system. liquid medium are solved as [6]
To include the effect of surrounding liquid medium in the

dynamic model of 2-DOF TCR, the cantilever tip is modeled by  1
approximating the axially vibrating cantilever as an oscillating ωl = ωair       ,
 2Rs3
6R2 1 √
sphere of radius Rs immersed in the liquid [6]. The approximation is 1+ + √ s √ 
3Me
justified for (i) the length of the cantilever is much greater than its  2M e ωl (8)
width (ii) the axial displacement of the cantilever is significantly 2Dl 2Dair 6Rs 6Rs2 √ √
= 1+ + √ ωl  ,
larger at its tip and near the tip of the cantilever [2]. When the ωl ωair Ce 2Ce
cantilever tip is immersed in the liquid, a force Ff offered by the
liquid acting on the sphere of radius Rs , oscillating with the velocity
v(t) = ġ = ẋis given as where, ωair , Dair and ωl , Dl are the resonant frequency, damping
factor of the 2-DOF TCR system in air and in surrounding liq-


∂v(t)
uid medium respectively. From the oscillating sphere model, it is
Rs 2 2Rs clearly given that the resonant frequency of cantilever shaped 2-
Ff = 6Rs 1+ v(t) + 3Rs2 1+ (4) DOF system is affected by liquid density and the product of liquid
ı ωr 9ı ∂t
density and viscosity which is in the second term of Eq. (8) for res-
 onant frequency. The damping factor is directly dependent on the
2 viscosity and the product of density and viscosity, which signif-
where ı = ωr  , is the penetration depth and the ,  are the
icantly affects the quality factor of the cantilever structure. The
viscosity and density of the liquid, ωr is the resonant frequency of quality factor of the resonant system indicates the rate of energy
2-DOF TCR system. The induced mass Mi and damping coefficient loss i.e. how under damped the oscillator is and it is calculated using
Ci offered by the surrounding liquid medium are included in the half power method [31].
dynamic model of the 2-DOF TCR and it is given as

fr
Qr = (9)
(M̄e + Mi )g + (C̄e + Ci )ġ + K̄e g = f̄act f

where the induced mass Mi and the damping factor Ci are [32] where fr is the resonant frequency of 2-DOF TCR system and f is
the bandwidth of the resonant peak. The damping factor D is related
 with the quality factor of the cantilever and it is given as
2 2Rs
Mi = 3Rs2 +  (6)
ωr 9 2D 1
= (10)
ωr Qr ωr
  
ωr 
Ci = 6Rs  + Rs (7) To determine the viscosity and density of the unknown liquid,
2
the Eqs. (6), (7) and (8) are solved for ␳ and ␮ [6]. It is given as
282 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288

monitoring the vibrations of 2-DOF TCR system at 3rd mode reso-

nant frequency. The parameters are compared with the 2-DOF RCR
and 1-DOF RCR systems for its performance. This section includes
(i) the frequency response of vibrating cantilever actuated by piezo-
electric in air (ii) the theoretical and experimental validation of the
measurement system with liquids of known viscosity and density
(iii) Improved sensitivity in the 2-DOF TCR system compared to
2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR.

4.1. Resonance characterization of 2-DOF TCR system

The derived model of 2-DOF TCR system as per the dimensions

Fig. 4. Simulated frequency response of 2-DOF TCR system and 1-DOF system (with
dimensions of either driver or absorber mass of 2-DOF TCR).
given in Table 1 is simulated and the frequency response is illus-
trated in Fig. 4. From Fig. 4, it is clearly seen that the first and second
split mode frequencies (f1 = 59 Hz and f2 = 121 Hz) occur at both
sides of the initial natural frequency fn = 92 Hz. Although the reso-
nance energy is equally delivered onto the two masses, the resonant
amplitude of absorber mass (X2 ) is enlarged due to its smaller mass.
Thus the tip displacement of absorber mass is 4 times higher than
that of the driver mass (X1 ) at f1 and 2.6 times higher at f2 . Thus the
proposed design of 2-DOF TCR system comply with the resonant

ω2

 
ω2
2
2  12
Ce Dl ωair 9Ce air 1 Dl ωair air Cc2 Dl ωair
= 5 −1 − −1 − 5Ce −1 − 9Me ωn −1 + −1
84Rs Dair ωl ωn ωl2 70562 Rs2 Dair ωl ωl2 1262 Rs2 Dair ωl

(11)

  2 12
ω2

 ω2


2 ω2
2
3 9Ce Dl ωair 1 54Ce Dl ωair 3Me
=
28Rs3
5Me air
ωl2
−1 −
ωn Dair ωl
−1 + 2
30Me air
ωl2
−1 −
ωn Dair ωl
−1 +  air
ωl2
−1
(56Rs3 ) 14Rs3
(12)

The unknown liquid viscosity and density is obtained from Eqs. characteristics of existing 2-DOF resonators designed with strong
(11) and (12) by substituting the obtained resonant parameters of mechanical coupling scheme [21].
the resonant system during the immersion in the corresponding
4.2. Resonance spectrum of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF
liquid.
RCR system in vacuum and air

4. Results and discussion
The resonant characteristics of 2-DOF TCR system are validated
to determine the viscosity and density changes in liquids. The
parameters monitored are resonant frequency, resonant amplitude
at the tip and quality factor. The measurements are observed by
The resonant characteristics of 2-DOF TCR system is investigated
in vacuum at 1st mode and 3rd mode frequencies of vibration. The
2-DOF TCR system characteristics in vacuum are approximated to
the theoretically obtained ideal resonant characteristics. Fig. 5(a)
and (b) shows the frequency response of 2-DOF TCR system in vac-
uum, compared with 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR at 1st and 3rd

Fig. 5. Simulated resonance peaks of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR in vacuum. (a) 1st mode of vibration (b) 3rd mode of vibration.
 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288 283

to 412 Hz and in 1-DOF RCR system, the values remain unchanged.

The quality factor of 2-DOF TCR system is reduced by 9% in air,
comparing with quality factor in vacuum. In 2-DOF RCR system the
quality factor is reduced by 7% and in 1-DOF RCR it is reduced by
5%.

4.3. Response of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR to sample
liquids

The frequency response of 2-DOF TCR system is investigated,

Fig. 6. Simulated frequency response of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR at
3rd mode of resonant frequency in atmospheric air.
mode resonant frequency of vibration respectively. The resonant
parameters of the proposed 2-DOF TCR system are enhanced due
to the trapezoidal shape effect compared to the other two rectangle
shaped resonators. The resonant parameters of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF
RCR and 1-DOF RCR at 1st mode and 3rd mode resonant frequency
are listed and compared in Table 4.
When the surrounding medium is changed from vacuum to
atmospheric air with density  as 1.205 kg/m3 and viscosity  as
0.01754 mPas at 20 ◦ C, the frequency response of 2-DOF TCR is
obtained using simulation and compared with 2-DOF RCR and 1-
DOF RCR at 3rd mode resonant frequency of vibration as illustrated
in Fig. 6. From Fig. 6, the resonant frequency of 2-DOF TCR system
is shifted from 447 Hz to 445 Hz, when the surrounding medium is
changed from vacuum to air. In 2-DOF RCR, it is shifted from 413 Hz
when the surrounding liquid medium is changed from atmospheric
air to sample liquids of group I and II as listed in Table 3. From
Table 3, it is noted that for increase in viscosity, the density is found
to be increased for group I liquids and for increase in viscosity, the
density is found to decreased for group II liquids. The absorber mass
tip of 2-DOF TCR system is immersed in the sample liquids of group
I and II and the frequency response is obtained using simulation.
With reference to the frequency response in air, the change in the
resonant parameters such as resonant frequency, resonant ampli-
tude and the quality factor are observed. The frequency response
of 2-DOF TCR system when it is immersed in the sample liquids of
group I & II at 3rd mode resonant frequency is given in Fig. 7(a) and
(b) respectively.
For the similar surrounding medium with sample liquids of
group I and II, the frequency response of 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF
RCR are obtained for performance comparison. The simulated fre-
quency response of 2-DOF RCR for group I and II liquids at 3rd mode
resonant frequency is illustrated in Fig. 8(a) and (b) respectively
and the same for 1-DOF RCR is illustrated in Fig. 9(a) and (b). From
the frequency response of 2-DOF TCR system to the surrounding
liquid medium of group I and II, the altered resonant parameters
such as resonant frequency, quality factor and the resonant ampli-
tude are investigated. For group I liquids, the resonant frequency is
shifted from 445 Hz (air) to the frequencies varying between 409 Hz

Table 4
Resonant frequency, resonant amplitude and the quality factor of 1st mode and 3rd mode of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR in vacuum.

Resonant system 2-DOF TCR 2-DOF RCR 1-DOF RCR

Mode number 1st 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 3rd

Resonant Frequency (Hz) 59 447 49.2 413 31 370

Resonant Amplitude (abs) 1.3 × 10−3 3.2 × 10−4 1.1 × 10−3 2.54 × 10−4 8.5 × 10−4 1.72 × 10−4
Quality factor 97 192 82 158 74 123

Fig. 7. Simulated frequency response of 2-DOF TCR at 3rd mode resonant frequency vibration with (a) group I liquids (b) group II liquids.
284 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288

Fig. 8. Simulated frequency response of 2-DOF RCR at 3rd mode resonant frequency vibration with (a) group I liquids (b) group II liquids.

to 142 Hz (Diethyl ether to Glycerol 100%) and the quality factor is
reduced from 176 (in air) to the values varying between 156 to 5
(in liquids). For group II liquids (Sesame oil to Gear oil SAE 90), the
resonant frequency shifts between 304 Hz to 292 Hz and the quality
factor varies between 45 to 16.
With reference to the viscosity and density of liquids given in
Table 3, in group I liquids, there is a wide variation in the density,
varies from 713 kg/m3 to 1261 kg/m3 compared to group II liquids
where it is from 850 kg/m3 to 927 kg/m3 . As given in Eq. (8) in the-
oretical model, the resonant frequency is significantly affected by
the density and product of density and viscosity. Therefore, it is
clearly visible that the resonant frequency shift is higher in group
I liquids compared to the group II liquids. The same behaviour is
found in the resonant frequency of 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR in
group I and II liquids. Accordingly, the 2-DOF RCR system, the reso-
nant frequency varies between 412 Hz to 138 Hz in group I liquids
and 293 Hz to 284 Hz for group II liquids. Likewise in 1-DOF RCR,
the resonant frequency varies from 370 Hz to 134 Hz for group I
liquids and from 270 Hz to 264 Hz for group II liquids. The quality
factor for 2-DOF RCR in group I liquids changes from 146 to 3 and
in group II liquids, it is from 38 to 12. In 1-DOF RCR system, the
quality factor reduces from 117 to 2 in group I liquids and 28 to 8 in
group II liquids. From the simulation results, it is clearly seen that
the 2-DOF TCR system is highly sensitive to the liquids of group I
rather than group II liquids. The same behaviour is found in 2-DOF
RCR and 1-DOF RCR system.
4.4. Experimental results
The experimentally developed measurement system is made to
operate in air and the sample liquids of group I and II, and the reso-
nant parameters are measured experimentally for comparison. The
input actuation voltage Va of 50 V(p-p) is given to the piezoelectric
actuator and the experimental frequency response is obtained for
2-DOF TCR as shown in Fig. 10. The first two split mode frequencies
of 2-DOF TCR system are f1 = 58.2 Hz and f2 = 125 Hz occur at both
sides of the initial natural frequency fn = 92 Hz.

Fig. 9. Simulated frequency response of 1-DOF RCR at 3rd mode resonant frequency vibration with (a) group I liquids (b) group II liquids.
 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288 285

parameters of 2-DOF TCR system are enhanced and the results are
in close agreement with theoretically measured resonant parame-
ters in air. When the tip of the absorber mass of 2-DOF TCR system
is immersed in the sample liquids of group I and II, the resonant
frequency values are measured for 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-
DOF RCR with the immersion depth of 5 mm at 3rd mode resonant
frequency as illustrated in Fig. 11.
From Fig. 11, it is clearly seen that in group I liquids, the reso-
nant frequency decreases drastically with increase in density. But
in group II liquids, the resonant frequency is found to be increased
though the density increases from 850 kg/m3 to 927 kg/m3 . This is
due to the corresponding viscosity range of group II liquid decreases
from 700 mPas to 65 mPas. Since the viscosity range is wider than
the density, it leads the effect of density on resonant frequency
resulting in increase in the resonant frequency. The same behav-
ior is found in the quality factor for variation in viscosity as given
in Fig. 12. The quality factor of 2-DOF TCR in the sample liquids of
group I and II with the depth of 5 mm is measured and it is com-
pared with the quality factors of 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR at 3rd
Fig. 10. Experimental frequency response of 2-DOF TCR and 1-DOF system (with
dimensions of either driver or absorber mass) with the input actuation voltage of
mode of resonant frequency which are illustrated in Fig. 12. The
50 V(p-p). performance of the 2-DOF TCR is measured experimentally for the
sample liquids of group I and II at 3rd mode of vibration for different
Table 5
immersion depth such as 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm which are shown
Resonant characteristics of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR in air in Fig. 13.
(experimental). From Fig. 13, it is clearly seen that the resonant frequency
Resonant system 2-DOF TCR 2-DOF RCR 1-DOF RCR
decreases with increasing immersion depth of cantilever tip within
the liquid and this is due to the increasing values of damping factor
Mode number 1st 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 3rd which is directly proportional to the immersion depth. The exper-
Resonant frequency (Hz) 57.2 443 48 410 30 367 imentally measured resonant parameters for varying viscosity and
Resonant amplitude (mm) 13.5 2.59 11.2 1.72 8.1 1.03 density of group I and II liquids at 3rd mode resonant frequency
Q-factor 94 172 83 149 76 118
of vibration is compared with the simulation results. The experi-
mental results are in good agreement with the theoretical results
obtained using simulation.
The tip displacement of absorber mass is 3.7 times greater than
that of the driver mass at f1 and 1.78 times at f2 , which are in
close agreement with the theoretical results obtained from the 4.5. Enhanced sensitivity of 2-DOF TCR system compared to
model of the system as shown in Fig. 4. The experimentally mea- 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR
sured resonant frequency, resonant amplitude and quality factor
for the 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR are compared at the The variation in the resonant parameters of 2-DOF TCR system
3rd mode of vibration in air are given in Table 5. As compared to such as resonant frequency and the quality factor at 3rd mode reso-
resonant parameters of 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR, the resonant nant frequency of the vibration in group I and II liquids of different

Fig. 11. Experimental and theoretical values of resonant frequencies of 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR in group I and II liquids at 3rd mode of resonant frequency.
286 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288
Fig. 12. Experimental and theoretical values of quality factor for viscosity variation in group I and group II liquids with 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR at 3rd mode
of vibration.
viscosity and density is observed. The resonant parameters of 2-
DOF TCR system measured in air is taken as reference and the shift
in resonant parameters for each liquid is calculated. The results are
compared with the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR system. The shift in
resonant parameters are calculated from both theoretical as well as
experimental results and it shows a good agreement between them.
The shift in resonant frequency with varying density of group I and
II liquids from the simulated and experimental results are calcu-
lated for 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR as illustrated in
Fig. 14.
The results clearly depicts that the 2-DOF TCR offers more shift
in the resonant frequency during the immersion of tip in the sample
liquids when compared to that of the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR.
Fig. 13. Experimentally measured resonant frequency of 2-DOF TCR at 3rd mode
for given sample liquids of group I and group II with different immersion depth of
5 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm.
Hence 2-DOF TCR system provides better sensitivity in the resonant
frequency shift compared to 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR. The reduc-
tion in the quality factor due to the increase in viscosity of different
sample of liquids for 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR are
illustrated in Fig. 15. The Fig. 15 shows that the performance of 2-
DOF TCR with reduction in quality factor due to increasing viscosity
of liquids which is higher compared to the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF
RCR at the 3rd mode of vibration. The sensitivity of the 2-DOF TCR
system is calculated with the ratio of change in the resonant param-
eters such as resonant frequency, resonant amplitude and quality
factor for the viscosity varying from 0.0174 mPas (air) to 1400 mPas
and for the density varying from 1.205 kg/m3 (air) to 1261 kg/m3 .
The given ranges are minimum and maximum values of liquid vis-
cosity and density used in analysis of the proposed system. The
values are compared with 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR system and
improvement in sensitivity is calculated and the comparison results
are presented in Table 6.
The simulation and experimental results clearly depict that
there is an enhancement in the resonant parameters of the pro-
posed 2-DOF TCR system compared to the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF
RCR. From the above analysis and results, it is evident that when
the resonant system is being operated in liquids of varying viscosity
and density, the enhanced resonant parameters such as resonant
frequency and quality factor of 2-DOF TCR system offers better
performance with good sensitivity.
Table 6
Sensitivity performance comparison of 2-DOF TCR with 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR
for 3rd mode of vibration.
Resonant Parameter Improvement (%) in sensitivity of
2-DOF TCR comparing with
1-DOF RCR 2-DOF RCR
Resonant Frequency shift (Hz) 31% 17%
Resonant amplitude for 50 V(p-p) (mm) 68% 41%
Q-factor 35% 14.52%
 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288 287

Fig. 14. Resonant frequency shift in different density of liquids of group I and II for 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR (experimental and theoretical).

Fig. 15. Deviation in quality factors in different viscosity of liquids of group I and II for 2-DOF TCR, 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR (experimental and theoretical).

5. Conclusion
This work presents the performance of structural tailored 2-DOF
TCR system comparing with the 2-DOF RCR and 1-DOF RCR at 3rd
mode of vibration in the application of determining the viscosity
and the density of liquids. The shape of the 2-DOF system is mod-
ified from rectangle to trapezoidal to form the 2-DOF TCR which
provides enhanced resonant parameters when compared to 2-DOF
RCR system and 1-DOF RCR system. The designed resonant systems
are theoretically modeled and the simulated results are presented
for both in air and surrounding liquid medium of varying viscosity
and density (group I and group II). The theoretical results of the
2-DOF TCR system shows better performance compared to 2-DOF
RCR and 1-DOF RCR. The experimental model is developed and the
measured experimental results are compared with the theoreti-
cal results which are in good agreement. The improvement in the
resonant frequency shift of 2-DOF TCR is 31% compared to 1-DOF
RCR and 17% compared to 2-DOF RCR and in quality factor it is 35%
and 14.52% respectively. Thus the structural tailored 2-DOF TCR
improves the performance in liquid density and viscosity sensing
288 S. Sathiya, B. Vasuki / Sensors and Actuators A 247 (2016) 277–288
with good sensitivity and the measurement system is well suited
for group I liquids rather than group II liquids.
Conflict of interest
None of the authors have any conflict of interest to declare.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the
MHRD, Government of India.
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Biographies
S. Sathiya was born in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India in
1988. She received the Bachelor’s degree in Electronics
and Instrumentation Engineering from Kongu Engineer-
ing College, Anna University, Chennai in 2009, the Master’s
degree in Control and Instrumentation Engineering from
Anna University, Coimbatore in 2011. She worked as Assis-
tant Professor from June 2011 to February 2012 in the
Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineer-
ing, Kongu Engineering College. She is currently working
towards the doctoral degree in the Instrumentation and
Control Engineering Department, National Institute of
Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India. She has been awarded
the HTRA fellowship from MHRD, Government of India for
her Ph.D. study. Her current research interests include Instrumentation systems and
Control, Smart materials and structures. She is a member in IEEE-Instrumentation
and Measurement Society, Life Member in Biomedical Engineering Society of India
and Life Member in International Association of Engineers.
B. Vasuki was born in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India in
1967. She received the Bachelor’s degree in instrumen-
tation and control engineering from the Government
College of Technology, Coimbatore, India, in 1989, the
Master’s degree in Power Systems, Regional Engineering
College, Tiruchirappalli, in 1994 and the Ph.D. degree in
instrumentation and control from the National Institute
of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India, in 2009. She worked
as a lecturer in the department of Electrical and Electron-
ics Engineering, Shanmuga polytechnic college, Thanjavur
from 1989 to 1995 and she worked as Assistant Profes-
sor, in the department of Electronics and Instrumentation
Engineering in Shanmuga Engineering College, Thanjavur
from 1995 to 1997. She joined in the Department of Instrumentation and Control
Engineering as a faculty member, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli,
India, in 1997, where she is currently working as Associate Professor. Her research
interests include Instrumentation systems and Interval Analysis.