The objective of this paper is to carefully study the performances of a new piezoelectric micropump that could be used, e.g., for drug delivery or micro-cooling systems. The proposed micropump is characterized by silicon diaphragms, with a piezoelectric actuation at a 60 V input voltage, and by two passive valves for flow input and output. By means of a 3-D Finite Element (FE) model, the fluid dynamic response during different stages of the working cycle is investigated, together with the fluid-structure interaction. The maximum predicted outflow is 1.62 μL min - 1 , obtained at 10 Hz working frequency. The computational model enables the optimization of geometrical features, with the goal to improve the pumping efficiency: The outflow is increased until 2.5 μL min - 1 .
Keywords: finite element method (FEM); fluid–structure interaction (FSI); micro electromechanical systems (MEMS); multiphysics simulation; piezoelectric material.