Design and test of a novel piezoelectric stack pump

The structural design, the working principle and the performance of a novel piezoelectric-hydraulic pump driven by piezoelectric stack are introduced. A steady-state dynamic model of the piezoelectric pump system was established. The electrical/mechanical/fluid coupling behaviors of the pump system were taken into consideration in the dynamic model. The prototype piezoelectric pump was fabricated with a piezoelectric stack in Ø10mm × 60mm. The experiments were carried out for measurement of the flow rate and output pressure of the piezoelectric pump. The piezoelectric pump was tested at different driving frequencies up to 100Hz, yielding a maximal flow rate of 288.5ml/min and a maximal output pressures of 68 kPa. The experimental results show that in condition that the cantilever valve keeps a good blockage of inverse flow, the output of flow and pressure can be increased by increasing the valve hole diameter, decreasing the length of the valve and reducing the thickness of the valve.