Description: Pump simulationPumps AND Valves

The NDEAA's piezoelectric and other pump and valves

Description: PiezopumpDescription: Piezopump

There is a range of NASA experiments, instruments and applications where miniature pumps are needed.   To address such needs, a piezoelectrically actuated miniature pump is being developed under a NASA Code S PIDDP task.  This pump employs a novel volume displacing mechanism using flexural traveling waves that acts peristaltically and eliminates the need for valves or physically moving parts.  This pump is being developed for planetary instruments and space applications.  Finite element model was developed using ANSYS for the purpose of prediction of the resonance frequency of the vibrating mode for the piezopump driving stator.  The model is used to determine simultaneously the mode shapes that are associated with the various resonance frequencies. This capability is essential for designing the pump size and geometry.  To predict and optimize the pump efficiency that is determined by the volume of pumping chambers the model was modified to perform harmonic analysis.  Current capability allows for the determination of the effect of such design parameters as pump geometry, construction materials and operating modes on the volume of the chambers that are formed between the peaks and valleys of the waves. Experiments were made using a breadboard of the pump and showed water-pumping rate of about 4.5 cc/min and pumping pressure of 1100 Pascal.   The pump is continually being modified to enhance the performance and efficiency.

Publications

"Piezopumps using no physically moving parts," Miniature Vacuum Pumps Workshop, July 20-21, 1999


"Piezoelectrically Actuated Miniature Peristaltic Pump," SPIE Smart Structures 2000, paper 3992-102


"Piezoelectrically Actuated Miniature Peristaltic Pump," SPIE Smart Structures 2001, paper 4327-52

 

M. Badescu, S. Sherrit, D. Lewis, X. Bao, Y. Bar-Cohen, and J. L. Hall, “Digital valve for high pressure high flow applications”, Proc. SPIE 9801, Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies 2016, 98010B (April 16, 2016); doi:10.1117/12.2219350

 

Patents related to piezoelectric driven pumps

U.S. Patent No. 5,630,709, May 20, 1997 Y. Bar-Cohen, "Pump Using Pistons And Valve Made of Electroactive Actuators"

 

U.S. Patent No. 5,961,298, October 5, 1999 Y. Bar-Cohen, B. Joffe and S.-S. Lih "Traveling wave pump employing electroactive actuators"

 

Demonstrations of ultrasonic pumping mechanisms

A demonstration was made during the JPL 2000 Invention Challenge, December 8, 2000. The demonstration was entitled "Plumbing-free water fountain using high-power focused ultrasonic waves."

 

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Last update April 22, 2016