The wide variety of possible applications of micro-thermofluid control

Abstract

The possible applications of micro-thermofluid control are reviewed here, mainly on the basis of the seventeen proceedings of IEEE International Workshops and Conferences on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems held since 1987. The contents consist of three aspects. The first is thermofluid control in microsystems; particularly, the attention is focused on the various types of micropumps. The second is thermofluid control in miniaturized thermofluid machines such as a microturbine and a microcooler. The third is micro-thermofluid control for conventional-sized flow phenomena such as turbulent shear flows and a flapping-wing micro-aerial vehicle. The author stresses that, in this field, considerable advances have been achieved by relatively young researchers with various backgrounds other than the classical thermofluid dynamics, and many challenging works are in progress which will lead to new possibilities in the field of thermofluid dynamics. Also, the author has gained the impression that the researchers’ byword has recently changed from “what can MEMS research do?” to “what should MEMS research do?”