Simple liquid pumping system using piezoelectric actuated cantilever beam

Abstract

A simple liquid pumping system is designed using a piezoelectric actuated cantilever beam with a glass tube attached to its tip. The flowrate of the pump is proportional to the tip displacement and vibrating frequency of the cantilever beam. The flowrate linearly increases up to 0.53 mL/s for water with actuation voltage (with amplitudes up to 300 V_(p-p)) applied to the piezoelectric actuator. The effect of other important parameters such as viscosity of the liquid, level of the liquid in the vessel and tube diameter on the flowrate of the pump is experimentally evaluated. The results demonstrate that the proposed pump is applicable to liquids with viscosity ranging from 0.23 to 170 mPa s.