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The analysis of internal transient flow and the performance of valveless piezoelectric micropumps with planar diffuser/nozzles elements

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Abstract

The influences of diverging angle, excitation frequency and volume change rate of the pump chamber on the valveless piezoelectric micropump with planar diffuser/nozzle elements are studied. The diverging angle ranges from 5° to 60°, the amplitude of the membrane ranges from 0.5 to 80 μm, the excitation frequency ranges from 10 to 5000 Hz. The deformation model of the membrane is verified by experiments. The performance of the micropump is predicted by numerical simulation. The simulation results agree with the experiment results very well. Statistical analysis of the location and duration of vortexes in internal flow field is used to reveal the relationships among efficiency, diverging angle, frequency and chamber volume change rate. As the frequency ranges from 100 to 1000 Hz, the efficiency increases sharply because the tube is partially blocked by vortexes at suction stage. The vortexes in the diffuser/nozzle elements is brought by the great adverse pressure gradient at the high frequency.

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Abbreviations

a :

The radius of the central part

b :

The outer radius of the outer region

f :

Excitation frequency

H :

The deep of the diffuser/nozzle element

L :

The length of the diffuser/nozzle element

P in :

The pressure at the inlet

P out :

The pressure at the outlet

q(t):

Transient flow rare

R :

The rounding at the throat

T :

Period

\(\bar{v}\) :

The average velocity at the throat

V :

The volume change of the pump chamber

w 1 :

The deflection of the central part

w 2 :

The deflection of the outer region

w max :

The amplitude of the membrane

W :

The width of the throat

θ :

Diverging angle

ρ :

Density of the medium

η :

Efficiency of the piezoelectric micropump

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Number: 51276082]. Departments of Education and Finance, Jiangsu Province of P.R. China (A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education institutions, PAPD) [Grant Number: SUZHENGBANFA (2014) No. 37].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, No. 301, Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu Province, China

    Xiuhua He, Jiawei Zhu, Xitong Zhang & Liang Xu

  2. Hydraulic Machine Center, Jiangsu University, No. 301, Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu Province, China

    Song Yang

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  1. Xiuhua He
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  2. Jiawei Zhu
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  3. Xitong Zhang
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  4. Liang Xu
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  5. Song Yang
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Correspondence to Xiuhua He.

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He, X., Zhu, J., Zhang, X. et al. The analysis of internal transient flow and the performance of valveless piezoelectric micropumps with planar diffuser/nozzles elements. Microsyst Technol 23, 23–37 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-015-2695-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-015-2695-0

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