A Heat-Driven Micro Jet Pump Using a Self-Oscillating Fluidic Heat Engine (SOFHE): First Demonstration

This paper reports the design and testing of a 3D-printed jet pump integrated with a self-oscillating fluidic heat engine (SOFHE) as an energy harvester for microfluidic pumping. This research marks the first instance of combining a thermally induced oscillatory flow with a valveless pumping mechanism. The valveless approach used can reduce losses while being well adapted to the operating pressure of the SOFHE. The jet pump characteristic curves exhibit a linear trend at various SOFHE operating temperatures with a pumping capacity of tens of milliliters per minute and a pumping head of tens of mmH2O. This heat-driven jet pump presents a promising solution for microfluidic applications, particularly for actively cooling microprocessors, where waste heat is available.