Flexible Fluid Pump Using Magnetic Composite Gels

Abstract

A flexible fluid pump made of magnetic composite gels has been developed. The magnetic composite gel was sodium alginate or poly(vinyl alcohol) gel in which barium ferrite particles were dispersed. The pump consisted of a magnetic gel-rotor and a driving magnet. The rotor demonstrated the rotational motion in response to a rotational magnetic field generated by the driving magnet. The gel-rotor had the shape of a screw so as to deliver water efficiently. The diameter of the rotor was varied from 3.8 to 5.5 mm and the diameter of the tube for delivering water was kept as 6 mm. Flow rates pumped by the rotor increased with increasing the diameter, length, and rotation speeds of the rotor. The maximum flow rate of 34 ml/min was achieved when the rotation speeds was 5000 rpm. The rotor with a diameter of 300 μm was also successfully synthesized, however the rotor did not deliver water in a microtube with a diameter of 500 μm. Processing of the gel-rotor, and the efficiency of the water delivery are presented.

In situ Production of Polystyrene Magnetic Nanocomposites through a Batch Suspension Polymerization Process

“…Several kinds of magnetic nanoparticles presenting different magnetic metals can be used for magnetic purposes, as for instance, magnetite (Fe3O4), maghemite (γ‐Fe 2 O 3 ), iron cobalt oxide (CoFe 2 O 4 ), cobalt zinc ferrite (Co 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 ), barium ferrite (BaFe 12 O 19 ), MnZn ferrite, NiZn ferrite, strontium ferrite (SrFe 12 O 19 ), Zn 0.6 Cu 0.4 Cr 0.5 Fe 1.5– x La x O 4 ($0\leq x\leq 0.06$ ) ferrites, and manganese perovskite La 1– x Sr x MnO 3 ($0.2\leq x\leq 0.3$ ) 9–11, 14–21. In spite of the large number of magnetic nanoparticles, special attention is given to superparamagnetic magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles due to its remarkable features, such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, low susceptibility to changes due to oxidation, magnetic retention only when exposed to an external magnetic field and strong ferromagnetic behavior 22–25…”

Novel Coiling Behavior in Magnet‐Polymer Composites

“…This type of magneticpolymer composite (Magpol), also termed ferrogel, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] magnetic gels, [9,10] magnetic field sensitive gel, [11][12][13][14][15][16] magnetorheological elastomer, [17,18] or magnetoactive polymer, [19] can readily change its shape and mechanical properties upon exposure to an external magnetic field. Many applications have been identified for Magpol including controllable dampers, [20] stiffness tunable supports, [21] miniature fluid pumps, [22] drug delivery, [23] cancer treatment, [23] sensors, [24,25] soft transducers, and artificial muscles. [26] Actuation occurs because an external magnetic field exerts a force on the magnetic filler particles, causing the movement of the entire composite.…”

Hysteretic Buckling for Actuation of Magnet–Polymer Composites

“…Magpol can be used in devices that take advantage of its remote and wireless actuation properties, e.g., magnetic grippers, cantilevers, medical devices, etc . Buckley et al have constructed a shape memory polymer (SMP) nanoparticle composite for expandable stents and intravascular microactuators .…”

“…[ 14,15 ] Magpol can be used in devices that take advantage of its remote and wireless actuation properties, e.g., magnetic grippers, cantilevers, medical devices, etc. [15][16][17][18][19] Buckley et al have constructed a shape memory polymer (SMP) nanoparticle composite for expandable stents and intravascular microactuators. [ 16 ] von Lockette and coworkers developed magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) composite structures for use in origami engineering applications using hard magnetic fi llers.…”