Explosive Micro-Bubble Actuator

摘要

The explosive micro-bubble actuator is a new type of actuator based on bubble generation by explosive evaporation. It can operate at frequencies up to 3,2kHz, which is extremely high for a thermo-pneumatic actuator. At these frequencies the device can still produce a pressure of several bars resulting in a membrane deflection of several micrometers and a membrane speed of more than 1 m/s. The effects of repetition frequency and heating power on the membrane deflection were investigated. During these measurements the average heater temperature was monitored to provide more insight in the thermal properties of the system. The maximum frequency can be increased without a large decrease of deflection by increasing cavity pressure. The performance of the explosive micro-bubble actuator makes future applications of this actuator in devices such as micropumps, loudspeakers and inchworm actuators possible.