The objective of the Phase I effort is to define requirements, perform trade studies, and to develop a working plan for fabricating and testing a prototype, low-power piezoelectric pump for the distribution of coolant fluid in portable life-support systems. Two general design approaches merit Phase I analysis. The fundamental principle of the first concept is a changing-volume "drive block" within a fixed-volume housing. The piezoelectric pump drive block is composed of a number of biconvex unit cells arranged to obtain the required flow and pressure. When the drive block is at a maximum volume, fluid is forced out through a check valve. Conversely, when the drive block collapses to a minimum displacement, fluid is drawn into the pump. The second type of device takes advantage of the unstable buckling of a piezoelectric plate fixed in a rigid frame. As the plate buckles from one metastable position to the next, fluid is drawn into and out of the pump body. Analysis of the basic system will be used to develop the most promising concepts to a preliminary design stage.
Potential Commercial Applications:Small pumps are commonly used in a wide variety of applications. In addition to active thermal cooling applications, piezoelectric pumps can act as electro- mechanical actuators. As an actuator, this pump may provide solutions to control system problems in robotics, bioengineering, advanced remote control, and telepresence technologies. There is also great demand for output devices that are more energy efficient, rugged, economical, and easier to control than conventional actuators.
