• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2672-2677
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• 2007

An investigation of low Reynolds number flow in nozzles and diffusers which are widely used in the valveless micropump is presented. Flow characteristics in the nozzle and diffuser are explained in view of viscous effect and flow oscillation induced by pumping membrane. These calculation results show that the rectification property of valveless micropump is due to a flow separation in the diffuser and the separation is largely originated from the flow oscillation. Under the assumptions of steady flow velocity profile and flow separation in the diffuser, simplified analytical models are provided to see the dependency of rectification on the micropump geometry. Geometric parameters of channel length, nozzle throat, chamber size, and converging/diverging angle are depicted through the analytical models in low Reynolds number flow, and the prediction and experimental results are compared. This theoretical study can be used to determine the optimum geometry of valveless micropump.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.748-753
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• 2004

The performance of a valveless micropump driven by chamber wall oscillation was numerically investigated for various frequency and amplitude of the oscillation. The numerical study was performed in the range of oscillation frequency from 200Hz to 1000Hz and amplitude from $1{\mu}m$ to $15{\mu}m$. And optimal values for the parameters are found. At the oscillation frequency 600Hz, the net flow rate of micropump shows a maximum value. Also the results show good agreement with the experimental results. The total flow rate was increased with the oscillation amplitude. However, the net flow rate was found to be decreased over $7{\mu}m$.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.35-41
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• 2006

In this paper, we focus on improving the performance of the piezoelectric diaphragms of valveless micropumps. A circular lightweight piezoelectric composite actuator (LIPCA) with a high level of displacement and output force has been developed for piezoelectrically actuated micropumps. We used numerical and experimental methods to analyze the characteristics of the actuator to select optimal design. With the developed circular LIPCA, we fabricated a valveless micropump by photo-lithography and PDMS molding techniques. The displacement of the diaphragm, the flow rate and the back pressure of the micropump were evaluated and discussed. With a semi-empirical method, the flow rate with respect to driving frequency was predicted and compared with experimental one. The test results confirm that the circular LIPCA is a promising candidate for micropump application and can be used as a substitute for a conventional piezoelectric actuator diaphragm.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.14-21
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• 2008

A numerical simulation on the flow field of a valveless bidirectional piezoelectric micropump has been performed. In this type of micropump, the oscillation of the piezoelectric diaphragm generates the blowing and suction flow through the oblique channel from the pumping chamber. The angle between the oblique and main channel causes the variation of flow distribution through upstream and downstream channels in suction and blowing modes. In the suction flow mode, the working fluid flows from both the upstream and downstream of the main channel to the pumping chamber through the oblique channel. However, in the blowing flow mode, the fluid pushed out of the pumping chamber flows more toward the downstream of the main channel due to the inertia of the fluid. In the present study, the effects of geometries such as the angle of oblique channel and the shape of main channel on the flow rate of the up/downstream were investigated. The flow rate obtained from the pump and the energy required to the pump were also analyzed for various displacements and frequencies of the oscillation of the diaphragm.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2008

In this paper, the pumping performance of a piezoelectric valveless micropump is simulated with a commercial finite element analysis software, COMSOL Multiphysics. The micropump developed in the previous work is composed of a 4-layer lightweight piezo-composite actuator (LIPCA), a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pump chamber, and two diffusers. The piezoelectric domain, structural domain and fluid domain are coupled in the simulation. Water flow rates are numerically predicted for geometric parameters of the micropump. Based on this study, the micropump is optimally designed to obtain its highest pumping performance.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.140.1-140.1
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.46.1-46.1
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.1186-1190
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• 2003

In this paper, a valveless bubble-actuated fluid micropump was has been developed and its performance was tested. The valveless micropump consists of the lower plate, the middle plate, the upper plate and a resistive heater. The lower plate includes the nozzle-diffuser elements and the double-chamber. Nozzle-diffuser elements and a double-chamber are fabricated on the silicon wafer by the DRIE(Deep Reactive Ion Etching) process. The lower plate also has inlet/outlet channels for fluid flow. The middle plate is made of glass and plays the role of the diaphragm. The chamber in the upper plate is filled with deionized water, and which contacts with the resistive heater. The resistive heater is patterned on a silicon substrate by Ti/Pt sputtering. Three plates and the resister heater are laminated by the aligner and bonded in the anodic bonder. Since the bubble is evaporated and condensed periodically in the chamber, the fluid flows from inlet to outlet with respect to the diffusion effect. In order to avoid backflow, the double chamber system is introduced. Analytical and experimental results show the validity of the developed double-chamber micropump.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.4 s.247
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• pp.350-357
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• 2006

A new valveless micropump for bi-directional application has been developed and tested. The micropump was fabricated on silicon and glass substrates by micromachining process. The micropump in this study consists of a membrane actuator, a pumping chamber, fluidic channels and two piezoelectric ceramic films. The channels and pumping chamber were etched on a glass wafer and the membrane was made on a silion wafer which is actuated by a piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) film. The geometry of the micropump was optimized by numerical analysis and the performance of the micropump was investigated by the experiments. The maximum flow rate was $323{\mu}L/min$ and the maximum back pressure was 294 Pa when the membrane actuator of $10{\times}10mm^2$ was driven at 130 Hz and 385 V.

• KSTLE International Journal
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2002

This paper presents the fabrication and performance inspection of a peristaltic micropump by flow simulation. The valve-less micropump using the diffuser/nozzle is consists of base plate, mid plate, top plate and connection tubes fur inlet and outlet. In detail, the base plate is composed of two diffuser nozzles and three chambers, the mid plate consists of a glass diaphragm for the volumetric change of the pumping chamber. The inlet and outlet tubes are connected at the top plate and the actuator fur pressing the diaphragm is located beneath the top plate. The micropump is fabricated on the silicon wafer by DRIE (Deep Reactive ion Etching) process. The pumping performances are tested by the pneumatic test rig and compared with the simulated results fur various dimensions of diffuser nozzles. The pumping characteristics of the micropump by the volumetric change at the pumping chamber is modeled and simulated by the commercial software of FLOW-3D. The simulated results shows that reverse flow is the inherent phenomena in the diffuser nozzle type micropump, but it can be reduced at the dual pumping chamber model.