A numerical simulation on diffuser-nozzle based piezoelectric micropumps with two different numerical models

This study has been conducted to compare two different numerical models for the evaluation of the performance characteristics of a diffuser-nozzle based piezoelectric micropump. Here, the transient displacements of the membrane and the flow characteristics in the piezoelectric micropump have been closely investigated with the FSI model and the prescribed deformation model for two different frequencies. It has been found that the behaviour of the membrane computed with the FSI model is not in accordance with that with the prescribed deformation model, and that the net flow rate with the FSI model is larger than that with the prescribed deformation model. Therefore, the choice of numerical model is very important in conducting numerical analysis for piezoelectric micropumps. The results of this study can be utilized as basic data for the design and analysis of piezoelectric micropumps. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.