Abstract
This paper presents modeling and finite element analysis of a thermopneumatic micropump with a novel design that does not affect the temperature of the working fluid. The micropump is operated by activating a passive wireless heater using wireless power transfer when the magnetic field is tuned to match the resonant frequency of the heater. The heater is responsible for heating an air-heating chamber that is connected to a loading reservoir through a microdiffuser element. The solution inside the reservoir is pumped through a microchannel that ends with an outlet hole. The thermal and pumping performances of the micropump are analyzed using finite element method over a low range of Reynold’s number ⩽ 10 that is suitable for various biomedical applications. The results demonstrate promising performance with a maximum flow rate of ∼ 2.86 μL/min at a chamber temperature of 42.5 ºC, and a maximum pumping pressure of 406.5 Pa. The results show that the developed device can be potentially implemented in various biomedical areas, such as implantable drug delivery applications.
Highlights
Since the beginning of MEMS-development, micropumps were among the first devices to be fabricated in microscale, due to their various applications in microelectronics cooling, medicine, biology, and space exploration [1]
It can be noted from the figure that the fluid temperature inside the reservoir and microchannels is not affected by the heater temperature
This is an important aspect in biomedical devices that handle fluids that are sensitive to temperature changes
Summary
Since the beginning of MEMS-development, micropumps were among the first devices to be fabricated in microscale, due to their various applications in microelectronics cooling, medicine, biology, and space exploration [1]. In various MEMS-based systems, the ability to precisely manipulate and pump small volumes of fluids is crucial. In biological systems, samples are required to be pumped through the components of miniature assay systems, which requires achieving precise control of the pumping and manipulation process [2]. Another important aspect for microfluidic systems is the ability to possess a miniature self-contained micropump. Micropumps are classified based on their pumping principle into two main categories. The first category is called mechanical or displacement micropumps, which have moving mechanical parts to exert pressure on the working fluid. The second category is called non-mechanical or dynamic micropumps, which
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