Harnessing reversible snap-through of a dielectric elastomer (DE), which is a mechanism for large deformation provided by an electromechanical instability, for large-volume pumping has proven to be feasible. However, the output volume of snap-through pumping is drastically reduced by adverse pressure gradient, and large-volume pumping under high adverse pressure gradient by a DE pump has not been realized. In this paper, we propose a new mechanism of DE fluid pumping that can address this shortcoming by connecting DE pumps of different membrane stiffnesses serially in a pumping circuit and by harnessing synergistic interactions between neighboring pump units. We build a simple serial DE pump to verify the concept, which consists of two DE membranes. By adjusting the membrane stiffness appropriately, a synergistic effect is observed, where the snap-through of membrane 1 triggers the snap-through of membrane 2, ensuring that a large volume (over 70 ml/cycle) can be achieved over a wide range of large adverse pressure gradients. In comparison, the conventional single DE pump's pumping volume rapidly decreased beyond a low adverse pressure gradient of 0.196 kPa. At the pressure difference of 0.98 kPa, the serial DE pump's pumping volume is 4185.1% larger than that of the conventional DE pump. This pumping mechanism is customizable for various pressure ranges and enables a new approach to design DE-based soft pumping devices such as a DE total artificial heart, which requires large-volume pumping over a wide range of pressure difference.
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October 2018
Research-Article
Dielectric Elastomer Fluid Pump of High Pressure and Large Volume Via Synergistic Snap-Through
Yingxi Wang,
Yingxi Wang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpewyxi@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpewyxi@nus.edu.sg
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Zhe Li,
Zhe Li
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117574
e-mail: bielzhe@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
7 Engineering drive 1
,Singapore 117574
e-mail: bielzhe@nus.edu.sg
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Lei Qin,
Lei Qin
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: qinlei@u.nus.edu
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1
,Singapore 117575
e-mail: qinlei@u.nus.edu
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George Caddy,
George Caddy
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX1 3PJ, UK
e-mail: George.caddy@mansfield.ox.ac.uk
University of Oxford,
Parks Road
,Oxford OX1 3PJ, UK
e-mail: George.caddy@mansfield.ox.ac.uk
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Choon Hwai Yap,
Choon Hwai Yap
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117574
e-mail: bieyapc@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
7 Engineering drive 1
,Singapore 117574
e-mail: bieyapc@nus.edu.sg
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Jian Zhu
Jian Zhu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpezhuj@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1
,Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpezhuj@nus.edu.sg
Search for other works by this author on:
Yingxi Wang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpewyxi@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpewyxi@nus.edu.sg
Zhe Li
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117574
e-mail: bielzhe@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
7 Engineering drive 1
,Singapore 117574
e-mail: bielzhe@nus.edu.sg
Lei Qin
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: qinlei@u.nus.edu
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1
,Singapore 117575
e-mail: qinlei@u.nus.edu
George Caddy
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX1 3PJ, UK
e-mail: George.caddy@mansfield.ox.ac.uk
University of Oxford,
Parks Road
,Oxford OX1 3PJ, UK
e-mail: George.caddy@mansfield.ox.ac.uk
Choon Hwai Yap
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117574
e-mail: bieyapc@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
7 Engineering drive 1
,Singapore 117574
e-mail: bieyapc@nus.edu.sg
Jian Zhu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpezhuj@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore,
9 Engineering Drive 1
,Singapore 117575
e-mail: mpezhuj@nus.edu.sg
1Corresponding authors.
Contributed by the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS. Manuscript received April 17, 2018; final manuscript received June 1, 2018; published online June 27, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Pedro Reis.
J. Appl. Mech. Oct 2018, 85(10): 101003 (6 pages)
Published Online: June 27, 2018
Article history
Received:
April 17, 2018
Revised:
June 1, 2018
Citation
Wang, Y., Li, Z., Qin, L., Caddy, G., Yap, C. H., and Zhu, J. (June 27, 2018). "Dielectric Elastomer Fluid Pump of High Pressure and Large Volume Via Synergistic Snap-Through." ASME. J. Appl. Mech. October 2018; 85(10): 101003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040478
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