Underwater propulsion using AC-electrowetting-actuated oscillating bubbles for swimming robots

Ryu, Kyungjoo; Zueger, Joshua M.; Chung, Sang Kug; Cho, Sung Kwon

doi:10.1109/memsys.2010.5442540

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The similar concept of bubble propulsion has been already introduced by Dijikink [5] and later extended by our group [6,7]. However, the above works are limited to the bubbles whose size is close to millimeters or whose shape is the spherical bubbles on a solid surface.…”

Section: Propulsion Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro propulsion in liquid by oscillating bubbles

Feng

Cho

2013

2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

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This paper presents a micro propelling mechanism that may be possibly used to propel a micro medibot (medical robot) that can swim inside of animal/human bodies. A key contribution of this work is that, to our best knowledge, for the first time we microfabricate micro propelling devices based on bubble oscillation and prove the propelling mechanism in micro scale. The measured propelling speed is up to 45 mm/s and the generated propelling force is estimated to be up to 6 µN, which is strong enough not only to propel the propelling device itself but also to carry a large attached object of even several millimeters.

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Section: Propulsion Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro propulsion in liquid by oscillating bubbles

Feng

Cho

2013

2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

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“…This device could swim at a maximum of 1.35 mm s −1 unidirectionally. Besides acoustic excitation, AC electrowetting 20 and thermal excitations 21 were employed to oscillate bubbles. The obvious excellence of acoustic excitation is the transmission of power (acoustic field) wirelessly using a simple external acoustic actuator, which has motivated many to widen its application to many microfluidic components 22 such as pumps, 23,24 mixers, 22,23 manipulators, [25][26][27][28] etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micropropulsion by an acoustic bubble for navigating microfluidic spaces

2015

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This paper describes an underwater micropropulsion principle where a gaseous bubble trapped in a suspended microchannel and oscillated by external acoustic excitation generates a propelling force. The propelling swimmer is designed and microfabricated from parylene on the microscale (the equivalent diameter of the cylindrical bubble is around 60 μm) using microphotolithography. The propulsion mechanism is studied and verified by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations as well as experiments. The acoustically excited and thus periodically oscillating bubble generates alternating flows of intake and discharge through an opening of the microchannel. As the Reynolds number of oscillating flow increases, the difference between the intake and discharge flows becomes significant enough to generate a net flow (microstreaming flow) and a propulsion force against the channel. As the size of the device is reduced, however, the Reynolds number is also reduced. To maintain the Reynolds number in a certain range and thus generate a strong propulsion force in the fabricated device, the oscillation amplitude of the bubble is maximized (resonated) and the oscillation frequency is set high (over 10 kHz). Propelling motions by a single bubble as well as an array of bubbles are achieved on the microscale. In addition, the microswimmer demonstrates payload carrying. This propulsion mechanism may be applied to microswimmers that navigate microfluidic environments and possibly narrow passages in human bodies to perform biosensing, drug delivery, imaging, and microsurgery.

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“…A microswimmer with the capability of two dimensional steering was also developed later [48]. AC-electro wetting, other than the acoustic excitation, was also used to actuate oscillating bubbles (300 μm and 1.5 min diameter) to generate a steady streaming flow for propulsion [49]. The bubble oscillation was made by electrically changing the contact angle of the bubbles [50].…”

Section: Propulsion By Bubblesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mini and Micro Propulsion for Medical Swimmers

Feng

Cho

2014

Micromachines

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Mini and micro robots, which can swim in an underwater environment, have drawn widespread research interests because of their potential applicability to the medical or biological fields, including delivery and transportation of bio-materials and drugs, bio-sensing, and bio-surgery. This paper reviews the recent ideas and developments of these types of self-propelling devices, ranging from the millimeter scale down to the micro and even the nano scale. Specifically, this review article makes an emphasis on various propulsion principles, including methods of utilizing smart actuators, external magnetic/electric/acoustic fields, bacteria, chemical reactions, etc. In addition, we compare the propelling speed range, directional control schemes, and advantages of the above principles.

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Underwater propulsion using AC-electrowetting-actuated oscillating bubbles for swimming robots

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

Micro propulsion in liquid by oscillating bubbles

Micro propulsion in liquid by oscillating bubbles

Micropropulsion by an acoustic bubble for navigating microfluidic spaces

Mini and Micro Propulsion for Medical Swimmers

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