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| Author(s): |
Rodrigo Sérgio Wiederkehr
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI) |
| Defense date: | 2007-12-17 |
| Examining board members: |
Maria Cecilia Barbosa da Silveira Salvadori;
Rinaldo Gregório Filho;
José Nivaldo Hinckel;
Sergio Luiz Morelhao;
Felix Sharipov
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| Advisor: | Maria Cecilia Barbosa da Silveira Salvadori; Mauro Sergio Dorsa Cattani |
| Abstract | |
This work describes the fabrication and test of a microvalve integrated in a micronozzle. The technique used to fabricate the micronozzles was powder blasting using aluminum oxide powder and glass as substrate. The microvalves are actuators made from PVDF (poli(vinylidene fluoride)), that is a piezoelectric polymer. The micronozzles have convergent-divergent shape with diameter of 1mm at the entrance and throat around 240µm. The actuators were fabricated as a bimorph structure (two piezoelectric sheets were clamped together with opposite polarization) with dimensions 3 mm width and 6 mm length. Both sheets are recovered with a conductive thin film with 200 nm of thickness used as electrodes. Applying voltage between the electrodes one sheet expands while the other contracts and this generate a vertical movement to the entire actuator. If the voltage is changed, this movement can be higher or lower. The devices were tested in a gas line applying DC and AC voltages between the actuator\'s electrodes. Measurements were also realized using a micronozzle without actuator, for control. In the case where DC voltage was applied between the actuators electrodes, the inlet pressure was kept constant in 266 Pa. Applying +300V DC voltage between the electrodes, the actuator moved 20µm vertically in the opposite direction of the micronozzle (it opened). In this case the volume flux rate, for a pressure ratio (outlet / inlet) of 0.5, was 150 cm3/min. Applying -300V DC between the electrodes (that means it closed 13 microns in the micronozzle direction), for a pressure ratio of 0.5, the volume flux rate was 134 cm3/min. With these results, we conclude that it is possible to control the flow through the device in the range between 134 and 150 cm3/min. Flow measurements were also performed applying AC voltage (200V AC with frequency of 5 Hz) between the actuator electrodes and with the inlet pressure kept constant in 13300 Pa. In this case, with a pressure ratio (outlet / inlet) of 0.5, blocking the micronozzle, the flow rate measured was 847 cm3/min. Considering that the flow rate measured for the micronozzle without actuator was 614 cm3/min, in the same measurement conditions, we concluded that the device, in AC mode, was working as a micropump. The relevance of this work was the use of the poly(vinylidene) (PVDF) in the fabrication of the actuators and use it as a microvalve. The micronozzles were fabricated in a glass substrate using the powder blasting technique that was also new. (AU) | |