Abstract
This paper deals with the design and characterization of an electromagnetic actuation micropump with superimposed dual chambers. An integral part of microfluidic system includes micropumps which have become a critical design focus and have the potential to alter treatment and drug delivery requirements to patients. In this paper, conceptual design of variable geometrical nozzle/diffuser elements, coaxial cantilever valve, is proposed. It takes advantages of cantilever fluctuating valves with preset geometry to optimize and control fluid flow. The integration of this conceptual valve into a dual chamber micropump has increased the flow rate when compared to a single chamber micropump. This technique also allows for the fluid flow to be actively controlled by adjusting the movement of the intermediate membrane and the cantilever valves due to their fast response and large deflection properties when subjected to an electromagnetic field. To ensure reliability and performance of both the membrane and electromagnets, finite element method was used to perform the stress-strain analysis and optimize the membrane structure and electromagnet configuration. The frequency-dependent flow rates and backpressure are investigated for different frequencies by varying the applied currents from 1A to 1.75A. The current micropump design exhibits a backpressure of 58 mmH2O and has a water flow rate that reaches maximum at 1.985 ml/s under a 1.75A current with a resonance frequency of 45 Hz. This proposed micropump while at its initial prototype stage can satisfy the requirements of wide flow rate drug delivery applications. Its controllability and process design are attractive for high volume fabrication and low cost.
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
Q. Cui, C. Liu et al., Study on a piezoelectric micropump for the controlled drug delivery system. Microfluid. Nanofluid. 3(4), 377–390 (2007)
J. Diaz, J.M. Lopera et al., A micropump for pulmonary blood flow regulation. Industrial Electronics Magazine, IEEE 1(1), 39–44 (2007)
F.K. Forster, R.L. Bardell, et al. Design, fabrication and testing of fixed-valve micropumps. Proceedings of the ASME Fluids Engineering Division, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (San Francisco) 234, 39–44 (1995)
I. Izzo, D. Accoto et al., Modeling and experimental validation of a piezoelectric micropump with novel no-moving-part valves. Sens. Actuators, A, Phys. 133(1), 128–140 (2007)
L.S. Jang, N.R. Sharma et al., The effect of particles on performance of fixed-valve micropumps. Micro Total Analysis Systems 2000, 283–286 (2000)
D.J. Laser, J.G. Santiago, A review of micropumps. J. micromechanics microengineering 14(6), 35–64 (2004)
C.J. Morris, F.K. Forster, Low-order modeling of resonance for fixed-valve micropumps based on first principles. Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of 12(3), 325–334 (2003)
Nektar (2009). http://www.nektar.com/.
A. Olsson, P. Enoksson et al., Valve-less planar pump isotropically etched in silicon. J. micromechanics microengineering 6(1), 87–91 (1996)
A. Olsson, P. Enoksson et al., Micromachined flat-walled valveless diffuser pumps. Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of 6(2), 161–166 (1997)
A. Olsson, G. Stemme et al., A valve-less planar fluid pump with two pump chambers. Sens. Actuators, A, Phys. 47, 549–556 (1995)
Omnipod. (2009). http://www.myomnipod.com/.
P. Sethu, C.H. Mastrangelo, Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based actuator for nozzle–diffuser pumps in plastic microfluidic systems. Sens. Actuators, A, Phys. 104(3), 283–289 (2003)
E. Stemme, G. Stemme, A valveless diffuser/nozzle-based fluid pump. Sens. Actuators, A, Phys. 39(2), 159–167 (1993)
N.C. Tsai, C.Y. Sue, Review of MEMS-based drug delivery and dosing systems. Sens. Actuators, A, Phys. 134(2), 555–564 (2007)
H.T.G. van Lintel, F.C.M. van de Pol et al., A piezoelectric micropump based on micromachining of silicon. Sens. Actuators 15(2), 153–168 (1988)
P. Woias, Micropumps: summarizing the first two decades. Proceedings of SPIE 4560, 39 (2001)
C. Yamahata, F. Lacharme et al., Glass valveless micropump using electromagnetic actuation. Microelectron. Eng. 78, 132–137 (2005a)
C. Yamahata, C. Lotto et al., A PMMA valveless micropump using electromagnetic actuation. Microfluid. Nanofluid. 1(3), 197–207 (2005b)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zordan, E., Amirouche, F. & Zhou, Y. Principle design and actuation of a dual chamber electromagnetic micropump with coaxial cantilever valves. Biomed Microdevices 12, 55–62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-009-9358-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-009-9358-9