Optimum sensor placement in microchannel reactors: design tool applications

A computational analysis of a microchannel reacting flow that includes diffusion and heat transfer processes to determine design rules for sensor placement is described. The objective is to optimize the positioning of nanohole array sensors which measure concentration and temperature and to analyze the characteristics of the local quantities sensed by nanohole arrays. Because the position and minimum spacing of the sensors are limited by material and fabrication constraints, the computational analysis is used to verify the effectiveness and limitations of this approach. Thermal boundary analysis is performed to analyze the relation between the sensed layer (micro-sensing region) over the nanohole array sensors and the boundary layer development. The relationship between the sensor position and the nodes of the numerical solution that limit this design process are discussed.