Numerical and experimental studies of flat-walled diffuser elements for valve-less micropumps

An investigation of flat-walled diffuser elements for valve-less micropumps is presented. The diffuser element is a small angle flow channel with a rounded inlet and a preferably sharp outlet. The diverging-wall direction is the positive flow direction. The flow-directing capability under steady flow conditions was determined experimentally for several different diffuser elements. The flow-pressure characteristic was studied in detail for one of them. The result is compared with previously published results on pump performance. Numerical simulations were done using the Computational Fluid Dynamics program ANSYS/Flotran. The simulations show the flow-directing capability of the diffuser elements and predict the flow-pressure characteristics well for Reynolds numbers below 300-400. For higher Reynolds numbers, the simulations show the flow-directing capability, but there is a larger discrepancy between simulations and measurements. Simulations were also done for a nozzle element, a wide-angle flow channel with sharp inlet and outlets used in the micropump with dynamic passive-valves. A nozzle element has the converging-wall direction as positive flow direction. The simulations show differences in the flow patterns for diffuser elements and nozzle elements that explain the opposite positive flow directions. The diffuser element has an ordered flow and takes advantage of the pressure recovery in the diverging-wall direction. The nozzle element has gross flow separation in the diverging-wall direction and there is a "vena-contracta" effect instead of pressure recovery. The effective cross-sectional area is smaller in the diverging-wall direction than in the converging-wall direction. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.