SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF MICRO-BEAM STRUCTURE FOR PIEZO-RESISTIVE MEMS STRAIN SENSORS TO APPLY IN STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Stress is one of the main parameters to monitor the condition of the infrastructure such as bridges, roads, buildings, and high-speed train rails in the structural health monitoring system (SHMS). Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) piezo-resistive strain sensors are often used for advanced applications due to their small sensor size, low power consumption, and high sensitivity. Typically, the strain sensor structure is made of a thin layer of metals, alloys, and semiconductor materials such as silicon. In this study, the new structure of the micro-beam is simulated to measure stress and strain by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The piezoresistive effect of semiconductor materials such as silicon is used to measure stress and strain with high sensitivity. Finally, the results show that the stress increases up to 35.92% with the micro-beam structure because the stress is amplified in only one direction while the other stresses in the other directions are close to zero.