Issue 17, 2012

Unveiling the missing transport mechanism inside the valveless micropump

Abstract

It has long been held, misleadingly, that the rectifier is the only decisive element for the design of fluid transportation in a valveless micropump. We have shown here that pump performance is also critically dependent on the design of the vibration chamber, a neglected element in micropump design that has drawn almost no attention in the past. Moreover, the generally used in-line design has, surprisingly, the lowest efficiency. The transport mechanism was found to be linked to the hydraulic coupling of two asymmetric vortex pairs inside the vibration chamber. Based upon the discovered flow mechanism, the proposed design inspired by an ancient fish trap has shown extraordinary improvement in micropump performance. It could also be potentially integrated with most existing designs for further energy saving.

Graphical abstract: Unveiling the missing transport mechanism inside the valveless micropump

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Technical Innovation
Submitted
27 Feb 2012
Accepted
11 Jun 2012
First published
13 Jun 2012

Lab Chip, 2012,12, 3024-3027

Unveiling the missing transport mechanism inside the valveless micropump

A. Wang and M. Hsieh, Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 3024 DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40210F

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