A Narrow Vertical Beam Based Structure for Passive Pressure Measurement Using Two-Material 3D Printing

This paper presents a novel narrow vertical beam based structure for pressure measurement. The structure is designed to measure a target impact pressure which is associated with the maximum allowed force applied on the vertical beams. By varying the geometric parameters of the vertical beam, the structure is designed to measure the different target pressure. This structure is featured for a small size, disposable and low-cost design by means of 3D printing. Compared with the structure of a horizontal cantilever beam, the vertical beam structure has higher stiffness, clearer sign of failure. The maximum allowed force is derived from the analysis of buckling and maximum strength. With the analytical model, the sensor is set to measure the impact pressure of 1 N/mm(2). A stiffness matrix of the sensor is derived by means of the Screw Theory. One application example of the pressure sensor is proposed.