Development of a low cost micro-pump
Date
2012-09-06
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Abstract
There is a growing demand for micro-pumps as a subcomponent in micro-fluidic systems. In order to make micro-pumps more suitable for most of cost-sensitive mass applications such as micro cooling systems, fuel cells and disposable biomedical applications, a design targeted toward lowest manufacturing cost, high endurance, and reliability is devised for the micro-pump. In this work, a check-valve micro-pump with a piezoelectric motivator was selected as a low cost design. By following a modular design approach, the total number of parts to be manufactured is minimized. This design is composed of four parts, the upper and lowers casing halves, a single plate inlet and outlet valve, and a piezoelectric disc. To achieve high durability and reliability, stainless steel shim stock was selected as the valve material. Micro-injection moulding and chemical etching processes were selected for the fabrication processes of the casings and the valve, respectively. Also, to facilitate the assembly process and for sealing the micro-pump casing, a heat press method of assembly was designed and tested.
To predict performance of the micro-pump, a modular simulation model was developed. In this model, results from static flow testing of the micro-valves, piezoelectric displacement test, and finite element structural analysis were incorporated in the model. As a result, a practical model for predicting the micro-pump performance at operating frequencies below 50 Hz is achieved. This simulation model can be useful in parameter selection, optimization and also micro-valve selection for different application requirements of the micro-pump.
As a result of this work, by applying design for manufacturing and mass fabrication methods to the overall micro-pump design, a low cost micro-pump designed for high performance and useful to a variety of applications is obtained.
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Engineering--Mechanical
Citation
Khalilian, S. (2012). Development of a low cost micro-pump (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25658