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Numerical Investigation of Multistage Viscous Micropump Configurations

Research Authors
M. Abdelgawad, I. Hassan, N. Esmail , and P. Phutthavong,
Research Year
2005
Research Journal
Journal of Fluids Engineering
Research Publisher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Research Vol
vol. 127, n. 4
Research Rank
1
Research_Pages
pp. 734-742
Research Abstract

The viscous micropump consists of a cylinder placed eccentrically inside a microchannel, where the rotor axis is perpendicular to the channel axis. When the cylinder rotates, a net force is transferred to the fluid because of the unequal shear stresses on the upper and lower surfaces of the rotor. Consequently, this causes the surrounding fluid in the channel to displace toward the microchannel outlet. The simplicity of the viscous micropump renders it ideal for micropumping; however, previous studies have shown that its performance is still less than what is required for various applications. The performance of the viscous micropump, in terms of flow rate and pressure capabilities, may be enhanced by implementing more than one rotor into the configuration either horizontally or vertically oriented relative to each other. This is analogous to connecting multiple pumps in parallel or in series. The present study will numerically investigate the performance of various configurations of the viscous micropumps with multiple rotors, namely, the dual-horizontal rotor, triple-horizontal rotor, symmetrical dual-vertical rotor, and eight-shaped dual-vertical rotor. The development of drag-and-lift forces with time, as well as the viscous resisting torque on the cylinders were studied. In addition, the corresponding drag, lift, and moment coefficients were calculated. The flow pattern and pressure distribution on the cylinders' surfaces are also included in the study