A micromachined thermoelectric sensor for natural gas analysis: Thermal model and experimental results

In this work, the potential use of a micromachined thermopile based device for analyzing natural gas is explored. Device's response is studied to attain the final goal of detecting variations in natural gas composition through the variation of its thermal conductivity. A FEM thermal model of the device is developed and used to simulate its thermal operation and estimate its sensitivity. Different responses have been recorded experimentally and compared with those obtained from the model developed, showing a good agreement. Results show that small variations in the gas mixture composition can be clearly detected.