title: Genetic Algorithm (GA)-Based Inclinometer Layout Optimization.
abstract: This paper presents numerical simulation results of an airflow inclinometer with sensitivity studies and thermal optimization of the printed circuit board (PCB) layout for an airflow inclinometer based on a genetic algorithm (GA). Due to the working principle of the gas sensor, the changes of the ambient temperature may cause dramatic voltage drifts of sensors. Therefore, eliminating the influence of the external environment for the airflow is essential for the performance and reliability of an airflow inclinometer. In this paper, the mechanism of an airflow inclinometer and the influence of different ambient temperatures on the sensitivity of the inclinometer will be examined by the ANSYS-FLOTRAN CFD program. The results show that with changes of the ambient temperature on the sensing element, the sensitivity of the airflow inclinometer is inversely proportional to the ambient temperature and decreases when the ambient temperature increases. GA is used to optimize the PCB thermal layout of the inclinometer. The finite-element simulation method (ANSYS) is introduced to simulate and verify the results of our optimal thermal layout, and the results indicate that the optimal PCB layout greatly improves (by more than 50%) the sensitivity of the inclinometer. The study may be useful in the design of PCB layouts that are related to sensitivity improvement of gas sensors.
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China. excelsior619@sina.com.|School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia. excelsior619@sina.com.
authors.forename: Weijie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China. zp3631@gmail.com.|Guangxi Experiment Center of Information Science, No.1 Jinji Road, Guilin 541004, China. zp3631@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China. xianpingchen@tsinghua.edu.cn.|Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China. xianpingchen@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xianping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China. caimiao105@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China. daoguo_yang@vip.163.com.
authors.forename: Daoguo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang