High-output Piezoelectric Micropump Using Active Check Valves

능동형 체크 밸브를 이용한 고출력 압전 마이크로펌프

A novel piezoelectric micropump using active check valves in place of conventional passive check valves in inlet and outlet has been proposed and investigated. It actively controls open/close motion of check valves using piezoelectric actuator for expansion/contraction of pump chamber. In this paper, bi-directional flow characteristics and load characteristics are experimentally investigated using an adequate timing control for valve closing motion with a prototype micropump fabricated with the effective size of $17{\times}8{\times}11mm^{3}$. From the experimental results, it is ascertained that optimal values of phase shift against voltage to drive pump chamber for realization of a miniaturized but powerful micropump, are $15^{\circ}$ in inlet check valve and $195^{\circ}$ in outlet. Based on the obtained results, a sheet-type active shuttle valve that has a unified valve-body for inlet and outlet check valves is proposed. A micropump with the effective size of $10{\times}10{\times}10mm^{3}$ is fabricated and basic characteristics are experimentally investigated.