Modeling the thermal actuation in a thermo-pneumatic micropump

Abstract

The analysis of a thermo-pneumatic actuation unit for its use in a micropump has been carried out. Coupled thermo-mechanical simulations by finite element method (FEM) (with ANSYS software) were required because of the complexity of the device. The simulation results were validated by thermal and mechanical experimental results, showing a good agreement. FEM results have been used to extract a high level model of the actuation unit that can be used to estimate the maximum performance of the micropumThe analysis of a thermo-pneumatic actuation unit for its use in a micropump has been carried out. Coupled thermo-mechanical simulations by finite element method (FEM) (with ANSYS software) were required because of the complexity of the device. The simulation results were validated by thermal and mechanical experimental results, showing a good agreement. FEM results have been used to extract a high level model of the actuation unit that can be used to estimate the maximum performance of the micropump operation with this actuation unit. In order to identify the best frequency of operation for the pump, a quality parameter has been defined based on the thermal dynamics of the actuation unit.p operation with this actuation unit. In order to identify the best frequency of operation for the pump, a quality parameter has been defined based on the thermal dynamics of the actuation unit.