Finger-Actuated Micropump of Constant Flow Rate without Backflow
NurFarrahain Nadia Ahmad,
Nik Nazri Nik Ghazali,
Ahmad Taufiq Abdul Rani,
Mohammad Hafiz Othman,
Chia Ching Kee,
Prastika Krisma Jiwanti,
Arturo Rodríguez-Gómez,
Yew Hoong Wong
Affiliations
NurFarrahain Nadia Ahmad
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Federal Territory, Malaysia
Nik Nazri Nik Ghazali
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Federal Territory, Malaysia
Ahmad Taufiq Abdul Rani
Industrial and Mechanical Design, Faculty of Engineering, German-Malaysian Institute, Jalan Ilmiah, Taman Universiti, Kajang 43000, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohammad Hafiz Othman
Department of Process & Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Chia Ching Kee
Centre for Advance Materials and Intelligent Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment & Information Technology, SEGi University, Petaling Jaya 47810, Selangor, Malaysia
Prastika Krisma Jiwanti
Nanotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technology and Multidiscipline, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia
Arturo Rodríguez-Gómez
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, A.P. 20-364, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
Yew Hoong Wong
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Federal Territory, Malaysia
This paper presents a finger-actuated micropump with a consistent flow rate and no backflow. The fluid dynamics in interstitial fluid (ISF) extraction microfluidics are studied through analytical, simulation, and experimental methods. Head losses, pressure drop, diodocity, hydrogel swelling, criteria for hydrogel absorption, and consistency flow rate are examined in order to access microfluidic performance. In terms of consistency, the experimental result revealed that after 20 s of duty cycles with full deformation on the flexible diaphragm, the output pressure became uniform and the flow rate remained at nearly constant levels of 2.2 μL/min. The flow rate discrepancy between the experimental and predicted flow rates is around 22%. In terms of diodicity, when the serpentine microchannel and hydrogel-assisted reservoir are added to the microfluidic system integration, the diodicity increases by 2% (Di = 1.48) and 34% (Di = 1.96), respectively, compared to when the Tesla integration (Di = 1.45) is used alone. A visual and experimentally weighted analysis finds no signs of backflow. These significant flow characteristics demonstrate their potential usage in many low-cost and portable microfluidic applications.
