Dimensioning and characterisation of an EWOD-driven chipintegrated micropump using time-resolved simulations

Conference: MikroSystemTechnik Kongress 2021 - Kongress
11/08/2021 - 11/10/2021 at Stuttgart-Ludwigsburg, Deutschland

Proceedings: MikroSystemTechnik Kongress 2021

Pages: 4Language: englishTyp: PDF

Authors:
Bohm, Sebastian (Fachgebiet Theoretische Physik I and Institut für Mikro- und Nanotechnologien, TU Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany & 5microns GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany)
Phi, Hai Binh; Dittrich, Lars (5microns GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany)
Moriyama, Ayaka (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Carleton College, Northfield, USA)
Runge, Erich (Fachgebiet Theoretische Physik I and Institut für Mikro- und Nanotechnologien, TU Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany)

Abstract:
In this work, methods for the theoretical description of a novel micropump driven by Electrowetting-On-Dielectrics (short EWOD) are presented. This pump has the special property of operating completely without moving components by the use of efficient passive Tesla valves in combination with the EWOD effect. However, the modelling and dimensioning of the micropump is a major challenge due to the coupling of electrodynamics with hydrodynamics. Therefore efficient simulation methods are required for modelling the micropump. In this paper, two methods for the time-resolved simulation of the entire system are presented. In addition to the direct simulation method using COMSOL Multiphysics(r), a simplified method based on a fluidic equivalent circuit diagram is introduced. The predictions of the two simulation methods are compared and important parameters for an efficient pump design are identified.