Valveless Piezoelectric Pump with Reverse Diversion Channel

Yongming Yao,Zhicong Zhou,Tianyu Li,Xiaobin Gao,Huiying Liu

doi:10.3390/electronics10141712

Abstract

In order to reduce backflow and improve output performance, a valveless piezoelectric pump with a reverse diversion channel was produced. The channel was designed based on the structure of the Tesla valve, which has no moving parts and can produce a high-pressure drop during reverse flow. Therefore, this special flowing channel can reduce the backflow of a valveless piezoelectric pump, which has the characteristic of one-way conduction. This work first revealed the relationship between the main structural parameters of the Tesla valve and the kinetic energy difference of liquid. Then, by using simulation software, the structure was verified to have the characteristics of effective suppression of the backflow of valveless piezoelectric pumps. Through setting multiple simulations, some important parameters that include the optimal height between the straight channels (H), the optimal angle (α) between the straight channel and the inclined channel, as well as the optimal radius (R) of the channel were confirmed. Finally, a series of prototypes were fabricated to test the output performance of this valveless piezoelectric pump. Comparing the experimental results, the optimal parameters of the Tesla valve were determined. The results suggest that when the parameters of the Tesla valve were H = 8 mm, α = 30°, and R = 3.4 mm, the output performance of this piezoelectric pump became best, which had a maximum flow rate of 79.26 mL/min with a piezoelectric actuator diameter of 35 mm, an applied voltage of 350 Vp-p, and a frequency of 28 Hz. The effect of this structure in reducing the return flow can be applied to fields such as agricultural irrigation.

Highlights

The piezoelectric pump, as a branch of micropump, because of its advantages of easy miniaturization, zero electromagnetic interference, and low noise, is greatly favored by scholars and widely used in many fields such as biomedicine [1,2,3], fuel cells [4,5,6], cooling systems [7,8,9], household appliances [10], as well as electronic sensors [11,12,13]
Among all kinds of piezoelectric pumps, valveless piezoelectric pumps possess the advantage of simple structure and high reliability, which receives much more attention
Wang et al [17] designed and researched a valveless piezoelectric pump based on a nozzle-shaped actuation chamber with an acoustic resonator profile

Summary

Introduction

The piezoelectric pump, as a branch of micropump, because of its advantages of easy miniaturization, zero electromagnetic interference, and low noise, is greatly favored by scholars and widely used in many fields such as biomedicine [1,2,3], fuel cells [4,5,6], cooling systems [7,8,9], household appliances [10], as well as electronic sensors [11,12,13]. Dau et al [18] designed a cross-junction channel for the valveless piezoelectric pump to increase the flow rate. In 2020, Zhao et al [31] designed and manufactured a valveless piezoelectric pump with a multi-order meniscus resistive fluid structure in combination with 3D printing technology.

Results

Conclusion