Manipulating fluid with vibrating 3D-printed paddles for applications in micropump

This paper presents a novel working mechanism of a micropump using micropaddles (MPs) to actively manipulate fluid based on 3D printing technology. The novel working principle is systematically discussed using analysis, computation and experiment methods. A theoretical model is established to research the working mechanism and crucial parameters for driving ability, such as MPs shape, size, vibration amplitude and frequency. Two different 3D printing techniques that simplify the multi-step process into only one step are introduced to manufacture the prototype pump for investigating the principle experimentally. A testing system is designed to evaluate the flow rate of pumps with eight different vibrating paddles. A maximum flux of 127.9 mL/min is obtained at an applied voltage of 9 V. These experiments show that the active-type mechanical pump could not only freely control flow direction but also change flux by adopting different shapes or distribution ways. The advantage of the novel micropump is the application of the MP structure into the micropump system to actively manipulate fluid with flexibility and high driving ability at fairly low power.