A Fluid-Structure Interaction Based Simulation Study Of Piezoelectric Micropump For Drug Delivery Application

Micropump technology has garnered the attention of researchers because of its diversity in numerous applications. Fast response and low power consumption make the piezoelectric micropump an obvious choice for controlled drug delivery applications. It requires fluid flow with minimum flow pulsations and backpressure. Because of the complex structure of the valved micropump, an accurate analytical flow solution is difficult to attain. Hence, a numerical simulation was performed on the model of piezoelectric micropump with microvalve using a finite element solver. A 3D Two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) study was carried out. This illustrates the pressure exerted by fluid onto the solid and the change in fluid flow as the resultant. The solution was obtained for the fluid flow in a continuously deforming geometry. The analysis of results gives stresses developed on the microvalve, change in flow discharge and actuator displacement with respect to input frequency and voltage. The experimental results are presented to validate the simulation. This study is useful to establish a precise and controlled drug delivery using micropump in biomedical applications.