Dew Point Calibration System Using a Quartz Crystal Sensor with a Differential Frequency Method

• Main Authors: Ningning Lin, Xiaofeng Meng, Jing Nie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-11-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: differential frequency; dew point; quartz crystal sensor; spectrum analysis
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1944

In this paper, the influence of temperature on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor response during dew point calibration is investigated. The aim is to present a compensation method to eliminate temperature impact on frequency acquisition. A new sensitive structure is proposed with double QCMs. One is kept in contact with the environment, whereas the other is not exposed to the atmosphere. There is a thermal conductivity silicone pad between each crystal and a refrigeration device to keep a uniform temperature condition. A differential frequency method is described in detail and is applied to calibrate the frequency characteristics of QCM at the dew point of −3.75 °C. It is worth noting that frequency changes of two QCMs were approximately opposite when temperature conditions were changed simultaneously. The results from continuous experiments show that the frequencies of two QCMs as the dew point moment was reached have strong consistency and high repeatability, leading to the conclusion that the sensitive structure can calibrate dew points with high reliability.