An Experimental Investigation of Closed-Loop Impedance Pumping in a Compliant, Elastic Tube Millistructure by Variation of Perturbation Location

Abstract

Flow through a fluid-filled compliant tube microstructure subject to periodic perturbations is not widely reported. An understanding of this phenomena is sought herein, as it may be useful for design of biological flows in microfluidic devices. An experiment conducted at the milli-scale to study the fluid flow produced within a closed-loop network of tubing, having a compliant millitube section subject to periodic perturbations from a probe is presented, and provides a basis for a micro-scale experiment. To test the fluid response, the boundary of the compliant millitube section was periodically perturbed by the probe at a variety of frequencies at five locations. Experimental results demonstrate fluid circulation within the closed-loop of tubing, which varies significantly with the frequency and location of applied perturbations. Overall, the study herein illustrates a unique design for pumping which utilizes periodic vibrations of a compliant tube structure to create a net positive displacement of fluid.