Experimental analysis of a valve-less piezoelectric micropump with crescent-shaped structure

摘要

This study presents a high-performance valve-less piezoelectric micropump with crescent-shaped structure. This micropump was designed by finite element analysis (FEA) and fabricated through 3D printing technology. Different configurations of the micropump with different distances from inlet to the crescent-shaped structure (delta = 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, and 1.5 mm) and numbers of crescent-shaped structures (from one up to four stages) were tested. The sound pressure level (SPL) characteristics were experimentally investigated and evaluated at 0.6, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mm. The results gave a maximum flow rate of 219.4 ml min(-1) at 0.6 mm under 220 V and 45 Hz. Moreover, the flow rate for the quadruple crescent-shaped structure was 286 ml min(-1) at 220 V and 82 Hz. Besides, the difference of the SPL was 3.2 dB at 0.6 m, making this pump better than others; the difference was kept at about 18 dB when the gap exceeded 2.0 mm. The results suggest that the structure with the best configuration is that with delta = 0.6 mm and four stages, and the SPL fluctuation is smaller as the output performance becomes better. The study offers some valuable insights into improving its performance and practical application.