The compact acoustic liquid sensor based on the circumferential modes of a cylindrical shell

•The circumferential modes excited acoustically in a cylindrical-shell system are used effectively for liquid sensing.•The operating conditions of the cylindrical-shell sensor are optimized analytically for better sensitivity.•The cylindrical-shell sensor is theoretically and experimentally evaluated using different concentrations of sodium iodide (NaI) and water mixtures.•The proposed cylindrical-shell sensor is easily integrated with lab-on-a-chip devices for various microfluidic sensing applications.