Design and analysis of a high pressure piezoelectric actuated microvalve

Abstract

A normally open piezoelectric actuated microvalve which modulates a gas flow is fabricated and tested. This work is based on the novel concept of combining micro-machining- and fine machining. The microvalve was tested for air flow. It is shown that a flow rate of 250 ml min−1 for a pressure difference of 4 bars can be achieved. The continuous and controlled flow of gas at any stage of valve operation can be obtained. Additionally, it has been shown that almost no hysteresis occurs during the valve operation and the power consumption is very low.

Proportional Microvalve Using a Unimorph Piezoelectric Microactuator

“…Due to the limited range of the liquid flow sensor that was available, it was desired to have a maximum flow rate of 90 µL min −1 at the maximum pressure of 1 bar. The fluid flow was modelled analytically using an electrical-analogue approach [16]. The formulation used is given in Appendix A.2 and the final microchannel dimensions in Table A2.…”

“…All the channels were modelled as static resistances and the valving chamber was modelled as a variable resistance [16]. Rectangular and circular channel resistances are shown in Equations (A3) and (A4) respectively.…”

Amplified piezoelectrically actuated on-chip flow switching for a rapid and stable microfluidic fluorescence activated cell sorter

“…44 Among them, due to the reliable ow regulation on the microscale, mechanical valving is considered to be one of the promising sorting technologies. 45 A plurality of piezoelectric microvalves have been proposed as high-performance mechanical microvalves, [46][47][48][49] displaying the advantages of large driving force, rapid response and high tolerance. The shortcoming of small strokes of piezoelectric microvalves has also been overcome by the hydraulic amplication.…”

Micromachines – An Open Access Journal on Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

“…Actuators are devices that can create motion. There is a vast number of applications for such micromachines, ranging from instruments for the positioning of tips [3] to systems for low invasive surgery [4], from pumps [5] and flow controllers in lab-on-a-chip devices [6], to applications in robotics to form active skin to suppress the onset of turbulence of the flow along airplane wings, to tiny distributed actuators for robotic hands in nanospace crafts [7].Many of these systems are only visible behind the horizon, requiring fundamental research in transduction mechanisms, materials, fabrication methods, etc. On the other hand, many concepts of micromachines are by now used in commercial miniaturized systems, with a rapidly increasing trend.…”

“…Actuators are devices that can create motion. There is a vast number of applications for such micromachines, ranging from instruments for the positioning of tips [3] to systems for low invasive surgery [4], from pumps [5] and flow controllers in lab-on-a-chip devices [6], to applications in robotics to form active skin to suppress the onset of turbulence of the flow along airplane wings, to tiny distributed actuators for robotic hands in nanospace crafts [7].…”