A Comparative Evaluation of Magnetorheological Micropump Designs

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the performance characteristics of five different magnetorheological micropump designs, two of which were our proposed designs, while others were from the existing designs in the literature. Comparisons have been performed based on physics-based simulations, and the fully coupled magneto-solid-fluid interaction simulations were carried out in COMSOL Multiphysics software. For a fair and meaningful comparison, both the material and geometric properties were kept the same, and the simulations were run for one complete pumping cycle. The results showed that the proposed flap and duckbill valve models could pump 1.09 µL and 1.16 µL respectively in 1 s, which was more than the rest of the existing micropump models. Moreover, at 0.5 s, when the magnetic flux density was maximum, the flap and duckbill valve models could pump almost twice as fluid as some of the existing valve models did. The results also demonstrated that the flap and duckbill valve models were nearly five times faster than some of existing models. In conclusion, the proposed two micropump models could propel more net fluid volume than the existing micropump designs, experienced low leakage during the contraction and expansion phase, and had faster response times. We believe that the present study provides valuable insights for future micropump designs, which have an extensive range of application areas, ranging from insulin dosing systems for T1D patients to artificial organs to transport blood and from organ-on-chip applications to micro-cooling systems.

Computational analysis of a four-flap valveless micropump (FFVM) for low reynolds number applications in microfluidic systems

“…Moreover, the small size and minimal dead volume of the FFVM enhance its versatility, enabling seamless incorporation into compact and scaled-down systems with restricted space (Cesmeci et al 2022).…”

Curing spurious magneto‐mechanical coupling in soft non‐magnetic materials

“…where b is the magnetic b-field (magnetic flux), h is magnetic h-field (magnetic intensity). From (15) it is clear that b and h can be expressed in terms of potentials as b = curl a and h = −grad 𝜙, (16) with a being the (magnetic) vector potential and 𝜙 the auxiliary scalar magnetic potential. While not of real physical significance, 𝜙 is particularly convenient for computations.…”

“…For experimental data on MREs we refer to Jolly et al, 1 Bednarek, 2 Ginder et al, 3 Martin et al, 4 Böse and Röder, 5 Danas et al, 6 Bodelot and Danas 7 and Garcia‐Gonzalez et al 8 as well as to the extensive review by Bastola and Hossain 9 . These findings have inspired many interesting applications of MREs such magnetically actuated valves, 10 magnetically tunable dampers 11 and vibration isolators 12‐14 as well as micropumps 15 . With matrix materials becoming softer and bodies and structures becoming more compliant, new opportunities for applications open up in medical and biological contexts 16,17 .…”

“… 9 These findings have inspired many interesting applications of MREs such magnetically actuated valves, 10 magnetically tunable dampers 11 and vibration isolators 12 , 13 , 14 as well as micropumps. 15 With matrix materials becoming softer and bodies and structures becoming more compliant, new opportunities for applications open up in medical and biological contexts. 16 , 17 However, in this subclass of MREs well‐established experimental, numerical and theoretical approaches face new challenges.…”

Editorial for the Special Issue on Micro/Nano Structures and Systems: Analysis, Design, Manufacturing, and Reliability

“…Cesmeci et al [ 7 ] evaluated the performance of five different magnetorheological micropump designs, including two of their proposed designs and three from existing designs found in the literature. Comparisons were made using physics-based simulations, utilizing the fully coupled magneto-solid-fluid interaction simulations in the COMSOL Multiphysics software.…”