Design and Testing of a Valveless Piezoelectric Pump with Conical Vortex Diodes

Abstract

The valveless piezoelectric pump delivers fluid based on the difference of flow resistance of internal tube. In this paper, a vortex diode with conical tangential tube is proposed, which possesses the great characteristic of reverse cut-off, and the analysis of the forward and reverse flow resistance of the conical vortex diode is verified by finite element analysis. Then, a valveless piezoelectric pump with conical vortex diodes as the internal channel is designed, and the prototype is manufactured. The results of the output performance experiment show that the maximum output flow rate of the valveless piezoelectric pump is 10.44 g/min at the drive frequency of 45Hz, and the maximum output pressure is 560 Pa at the drive frequency of 35Hz. The proposal of the valveless piezoelectric pump provides a good reference for more new types of valveless piezoelectric pumps.