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A valveless piezoelectric pump with novel flow path design of function of rectification to improve energy efficiency

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Abstract

Existing valveless piezoelectric pumps are mostly based on the flow resistance mechanism to generate unidirectional fluid pumping, resulting in inefficient energy conversion because the majority of mechanical energy is consumed in terms of parasitic loss. In this paper, a novel tube structure composed of a Y-shaped tube and a ȹ-shaped tube was proposed considering theory of jet inertia and vortex dissipation for the first time to improve energy efficiency. After verifying its feasibility through the flow field simulation, the proposed tubes were integrated into a piezo-driven chamber, and a novel valveless piezoelectric pump with the function of rectification (NVPPFR) was reported. Unlike previous pumps, the reported pump directed the reflux fluid to another flow channel different from the pumping fluid, thus improving pumping efficiency. Then, mathematical modeling was established, including the kinetic analysis of vibrator, flow loss analysis of fluid, and pumping efficiency. Eventually, experiments were designed, and results showed that NVPPFR had the function of rectification and net pumping effect. The maximum flow rate reached 6.89 mL/min, and the pumping efficiency was up to 27%. The development of NVPPFR compensated for the inefficiency of traditional valveless piezoelectric pumps, broadening the application prospect in biomedicine and biology fields.

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Abbreviations

b half-i :

Half characteristic thickness of jet in direction i

b thi-i :

Jet thickness in direction i

C ε :

Damping of the vibrator

C H :

Attachment damping causing by fluid coupling

d :

Diameter of cross-section of tube

D :

Diameter of pump chamber

D 0 :

Diameter of piezoelectric vibrator

E :

Mechanical energy generated by the deformation of entire surface of piezoelectric vibrator

E 0 :

Initial kinetic energy of fluid

ΔE :

Kinetic energy loss of fluid

E ir :

Kinetic energy of the fluid

ΔE i :

Total energy loss of fluid flowing

ΔE ie :

Extra kinetic energy loss of fluid

ΔE ir :

Kinetic energy loss of fluid

E (r, θ):

Kinetic energy at the point above the piezoelectric vibrator

f :

Working frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator

f max :

Function that takes the maximum value

f min :

Function that takes the minimum value

f n :

Resonance frequency

F :

Vector sum of the exciting force

h :

Chamber height

H :

Distance between composite tubes and pump chamber

K :

Stiffness of the elastic system

K H :

Attachment stiffness causing by fluid coupling

K ε :

Stiffness of the vibrator

L 1 :

Length of the confluence tube

L 2 :

Length of the straight tube

l ir :

Prandtl mixing length

m :

Mass of the piezoelectric vibrator

M :

Mass of elastic system

M H :

Attachment mass causing by fluid coupling

M ε :

Mass of the vibrator

P f, P r :

Forward and reverse pressures, respectively

q, q̇, q̈ :

Displacement, velocity, and acceleration of the piezoelectric vibrator, respectively

Q :

Flow rate of pump

R 0 :

Radius of bend tube

R 1, R 2 :

Radii of the semi-arc tube

s :

Distance between chamber outlets

S :

Sectional area of the composite tube

t :

Time

u :

Sum of velocity vectors of fluid at the outer joint

u 0 :

Fluid velocity of the chamber outlet

u 1m :

Maximum velocity of the fluid flowing in direction 1 at cross-section m′n′

u m′n′ :

Velocity of the fluid on the cross-section m′n′

ΔV :

Volume variation of pump chamber in a half period

(r, θ):

Polar point

α :

Bifurcation angle of tubes

β :

Diffusion angle of jet flow

ε coef-i :

Thickness diffusion coefficient in direction i

ρ :

Density of the fluid

η :

Pumping efficiency in the outer joint

η r :

Pumping efficiency in Channel r

ζ ir :

Energy loss coefficient in the direction i inside flow channel r

ζ ie :

Extra energy loss coefficient when fluid flowed in the direction i

τ ir1 :

Shear stress in the direction i

τ ir2 :

Turbulent shear stress in the direction i

λ i :

Velocity ratios of fluid between Channels 1 and 2

μ ir :

Dynamic coefficient of viscosity

\({{{\rm{d}}{\mu _{ir}}} \over {{\rm{d}}{y_{ir}}}}\) :

Velocity gradient of fluid

i (i = 1,2):

Flow direction i

r (r = 1,2):

Flow channel r

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Acknowledgements

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. This work was financially supported by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (Grant No. 2019B1515120017), Regional Joint Youth Fund Project of Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research, China (Grant No. 2020A1515110619), and Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project, China (Grant No. 202002030356).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jianhui Zhang, Xiaosheng Chen, Zhenlin Chen, Jietao Dai, Fan Zhang, Mingdong Ma, Yuxuan Huo & Zhenzhen Gui

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  1. Jianhui Zhang
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  2. Xiaosheng Chen
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  3. Zhenlin Chen
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Correspondence to Zhenzhen Gui.

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Jianhui Zhang: methodology, formal analysis, project administration, resources, and funding acquisition. Xiaosheng Chen: formal analysis, validation, investigation, and writing (original draft, review and editing). Zhenlin Chen: software and formal analysis. Jietao Dai: software and visualization. Fan Zhang: writing (review and editing). Mingdong Ma: data curation. Yuxuan Huo: data curation. Zhenzhen Gui: conceptualization, formal analysis, project administration, resources, supervision, and funding acquisition.

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Zhang, J., Chen, X., Chen, Z. et al. A valveless piezoelectric pump with novel flow path design of function of rectification to improve energy efficiency. Front. Mech. Eng. 17, 29 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0685-3

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