Novel Design and Simulation Approach for a Piezoelectric Micropump with Diffusers

This paper presents a computer-based design approach of a piezoelectric valveless micropump which consists of a piezoelectric element, a diaphragm, a pump chamber, two diffusers, an inlet, and an outlet. The diaphragm and the piezoelectric element act as the actuator of the micropump. In the study, geometric parameters of the actuator, diffusers and external parameters are numerically analyzed in a Multiphysics environment using structural analysis and fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations. At first, the ratios between the diameters and the thicknesses are evaluated considering the maximum volumetric change of the diaphragm for a specific frequency and voltage. Then, the trends of the flow rate against the geometric parameters of the diffusers of the micropump are investigated to select suitable geometric parameters based on the flow rate. Furthermore, the effect of external parameters on the flow rate is studied. A direct relationship is observed between the displacement of the diaphragm and the applied voltage. The flow rate of the micropump increases exponentially when the width of the short side and the length of the diffuser decreases. Additionally, curve fitting is used to identify the relationship of flow rate with the applied voltage and the operating frequency which showed a quadratic and linear relationship respectively.