Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Design of a piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators

Jing Shi Dong a , Rui Gang Liu a , Wei Shuai Liu a , Quan Qu Chen a , Yang Yang a , Yue Wu a ,
Zhi Gang Yang a, , Bai Song Lin b
a
Department of College of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Jilin University, China
b
China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The structures and working principles of a piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators are described in this
Received 23 November 2015 paper. The output performance of the pump was analyses under different working modes. The exper-
Received in revised form 8 October 2016 imental results demonstrate that changing the driving strategy can vary the performance. When the
Accepted 1 February 2017
driving voltage is 60 V at 160 Hz, the maximum output pressure of the pump in the asynchronous mode
Available online 24 February 2017
is 2.18 kPa. The performance of the upper actuator working alone is better than the lower actuator work-
ing alone, and the maximum output pressure in this case is 1.3 kPa. Taking the piezoelectric pump with
Keywords:
a single vibrator as a typical example, an optimal design method has been applied on the check valves.
Piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators
Optimization experiment
The performance of the pump with wheel valves is better than that with cantilever valves; the optimum
Check valve thickness of the check valves is 0.188 mm.
2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction 2. Design and working principle

Piezoelectric pumps have been developed in recent years and
their typical operate mode is by pushing liquid through check
valves to produce positive uid ow. Compared with traditional
pump, the piezoelectric pump has such advantages as simple struc-
ture, low power consumption, high reliability, precise control and
so on. Therefore, it has important application values in medical
equipment, fuel cell, household appliance and electronic devices
[17].
The piezoelectric pump is driven by sine AC signal and piezo-
electric vibrator generating bidirectional bending deformation, the
volume of pump chamber increases and decreases alternately, the
liquid in the outlet pipe will be forced out and that in the inlet
pipe will also be sucked continuously. The previous research results
show that [810] there are many factors exerting effect on the
output performance of a piezoelectric pump such as the shape of
piezoelectric vibrator and the channel structure of the pump. To
improve its performance, taking the piezoelectric pump with a sin-
gle vibrator as a typical example, an optimal design method has
been applied on its check valves.
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: dongjs@jlu.edu.cn (J.S. Dong), liurg14@mails.jlu.edu.cn
(R.G. Liu), liuws13@mails.jlu.edu.cn (W.S. Liu), chenqq@mails.jlu.edu.cn
(Q.Q. Chen), y49024873y@163.com (Y. Yang), wuyue@jlu.edu.cn (Y. Wu),
yzg@jlu.edu.cn (Z.G. Yang), denticle615@hotmail.com (B.S. Lin).
2.1. Fabrication of a piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators
The structure of the piezoelectric pump with dual vibra-
tors is shown in Fig. 1. The pump consisted of ve parts,
namely, the pump shell, inlet and outlet pipe, piezoelectric
transducer (PZT) actuators and check valves. The upper, mid-
dle and lower pump shells were screwed together to form
the pump body. The PMMA pump body, which measured
50 mm 50 mm 16 mm (length width height), was fabricated
using a precision milling machine. The actuator consisted of two
PZT membranes (27 0.2 mm) glued to both sides of a brass mem-
brane (35 0.2 mm) and had a central hole with a diameter of
4 mm. The two actuators, the rubber seals, and the middle pump
shell composed the sealed pump chamber, which had a height of
3 mm. The check valves consisted of a PET thin lm and were fab-
ricated using a laser cut. In this experiment we used the cantilever
valves. Two of the nished check valves (7.8 0.1 mm) were glued
to the surface of the PZT actuators to cover the orices. The upper
pump shell had a check valve glued to its outside surface and the
lower pump shell had a check valve glued to its inside surface. The
rubber seal, which is also commercially available, had a height of
1 mm, an inner diameter of 33 mm and an outer diameter of 35 mm.
The outlet chamber (consisting of the upper pump shell and the
upper PZT actuator) and the inlet chamber (consisting of the lower
pump shell and the lower PZT actuator) each had a height of 2 mm.
The upper and lower pump shell each contained a central hole with

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2017.02.001
0924-4247/ 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.
166 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172

Fig. 1. Structure of the piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators. (a) outlet pipe, (b) check valve on upper pump shell, (c) outlet chamber, (d) upper PZT actuator, (e) screw,
(f) upper pump shell, (g) middle pump shell, (h) lower pump shell, (i) nut, (j) lower PZT actuator, (k) inlet chamber, (l) check valve on lower pump shell, (m) inlet pipe, (n)
rubber seal, (o)check valve on lower PZT actuator, (p) pump chamber, (q) check valve on upper PZT actuator.

a diameter of 4 mm and they were concentric to the holes of the

actuators; the inlet and outlet PMMA pipes (diameter of 8 mm)
were linked to these holes using epoxy glue to ensure bonding and
sealing.

2.2. Fabrication of the check valves

Cantilever valve and wheel valve are the two dominant types
of check valve. Fig. 2(a) shows the structure of the cantilever valve
(7.8 0.1 mm), a PET thin lm with three cuts on the surface (with
dimensions of 5.6 mm 4.5 mm). Fig. 2(b) shows the structure of
the wheel valve, the valve consisted of a PET thin lm with thickness
of 0.1 mm and the rim of it had an inner diameter of 7 mm and
an outer diameter of 7.8 mm, the round valve in the middle had
diameter of 4.5 mm and the wheel-shaped beams connected them
together. These check valves were fabricated using a laser cutter.

2.3. Working principle

Driven by sine AC signal, piezoelectric vibrator generates bidi-

rectional bending deformation, the volume of pump chamber
increases and decreases alternately, with coordination of four check
valves, directional movement of liquid is realized. There are two
driven mode of piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators. When the
phase difference of the driving voltages between the working actu-
ators is 0 , it is referred to as the synchronous mode; when the
phase difference of the driving voltages between the working actu-
ators is 180 , it is referred to as the asynchronous mode.
The working principle of the piezoelectric pump in the asyn-
chronous mode involves a periodic process. Fig. 3(a) shows that
during the rst half-cycle, the lower PZT actuator moves upward
and the upper PZT actuators move downward, the volumes of the Fig. 2. Structure of the check valves. (a)Cantilever valve and (b) wheel valve.
inlet chamber and the outlet chamber are increased, and the pres-
sures in the chambers are decreased. Responding to the change in
pressure, check valves on the lower actuator and the outside sur-
face of the upper pump shell close, and check valves on the upper outlet chamber leads to overpressure and the volume of the pump
actuator and the inside surface of the lower pump shell open. As chamber increases, decreasing the pressure in this chamber. Check
a result, liquid moves through the check valves from the outside valves on the lower actuator and the outside surface of the upper
to the inlet chamber as liquid in the pump chamber moves into pump shell open, check valves on the upper actuator and the inside
the outlet chamber. Similarly, at the second half-cycle as shows surface of the lower pump shell close, liquid in the inlet chamber
in Fig. 3(b), the lower PZT actuator moves downward, the upper moves into the pump chamber, and liquid in the outlet chamber is
actuator moves upward, the decreasing volume of the inlet and ejected.
 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172 167

Fig. 3. Working principle of the proposed piezoelectric pump in the asynchronous Fig. 4. Working principle of the proposed piezoelectric pump in the synchronous
mode. (a) Absorbing mode and (b) discharging mode. mode. (a) Absorbing mode and (b) discharging mode.

The working principle of piezoelectric pump in the synchronous

mode is shown in Fig. 4(a) and (b). During the rst half-cycle, the
lower and upper PZT actuators move upward together. The volume
of the inlet chamber is increased and the pressure in the cham-
ber is decreased, the volume of outlet chamber is decreased and
the pressure in the chamber is increased, check valves on the two
actuators close, check valves on the outside surface of the upper
pump shell and the inside surface of the lower pump shell open.
As a result, liquid moves through the check valves from the outside
to the inlet chamber as liquid in the outlet chamber moves to the
outside. Fig. 4(b) shows that at the second half-cycle, the lower and
upper PZT actuators move downward together. Check valves on the Fig. 5. Photograph of the experimental setup. (a) Power Supply, (b) Soap-lm
two actuators open, the check valves on the outside surface of the Flowmeter, (c)Signal Generator, (d) U type Pressure Gauge, (e) rubber tube, (f) pump
upper pump shell and the inside surface of the lower pump shell stent, (g) piezoelectric pump.
close, liquid in the inlet chamber moves into the pump chamber as
liquid in the pump chamber moves into the outlet chamber. Repeat 3.1. Results and discussion
the above process, liquid moves continuously from the inlet pipe
to the outlet pipe. Fig. 6 shows the frequency vs. ow rate of the piezoelectric
pump with dual vibrators in the synchronous/asynchronous mode.
At a voltage of 60 V, the maximum ow rates and optimal work-
3. Experiment and result analysis ing frequency for the pump with the two actuators actuated in
the asynchronous and synchronous modes are 1678.2 ml/min and
To investigate the output performance of the piezoelectric 1579.4 ml/min, respectively, and 240 Hz for both. Using this con-
pump, an experimental system was set up and it is shown in Fig. 5. guration, a series of experiments were conducted with a driving
The experimental temperature is of 25 C and air was utilized as voltage of 60 V and a frequency range of 40 Hz240 Hz, we found
the working medium. The ow rate was measured by soap-lm that the ow rate gradually rises with increasing frequency in a
owmeter and the output pressure was measured by U type pres- well-designed pump. The ow rate decreases after the frequency
sure gauge. exceeds 240 Hz. When the frequency exceeds 280 Hz, the ow rate
168 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172

Fig. 6. Relationship between frequency and ow rate of the pump in the synchronous/asynchronous mode.

Fig. 7. Relationship between frequency and ow rate of the pump when either the lower or upper actuator is working alone.

Fig. 8. Frequency vs. pressure of the pump under different working modes.

of the actuators decreases sharply the ow rate of the actuators
decreases sharply because the phase difference of the check valve
on the two actuators increases, gradually decreasing the synchro-
nization between valve opening and actuation. The experimental
data show that at any one frequency, the ow rate of the piezoelec-
tric pump with dual vibrators in the asynchronous mode is larger
than that in the synchronous mode.
Fig. 7 shows the performance of the proposed piezoelectric
pump when either the lower or upper actuator is working alone at
a voltage of 60 V. Fig. 8 compares the corresponding output pres-
sure of the pump under these different working modes. The output
pressure of the pump driven asynchronously is 2.18 kPa at a work-
ing frequency of 160 Hz, which is larger than the other three modes.
The output pressure and ow rate of the pump when operating the
upper actuator alone is better than that of the lower actuator work-
 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172
Fig. 9. Structure of the piezoelectric pump with a single vibrator.
ing alone and a maximum output pressure of 1.3 kPa is obtained at
driving conditions of 60 V, 160 Hz.
3.2. Comparison and analysis
Piezoelectric pumps with different numbers of vibrators had
inuence on the output performance. To take the contrast exper-
iment, piezoelectric pump with a single vibrator was designed.
Structure of the pump is shown in Fig. 9. The pump was driven
by a piezoelectric bimorph (diameter of 35 mm) which had a
hole in the middle(diameter of 4 mm), and a cantilever check
valve(7.8 0.1 mm) was adhered to the hole to cut off uid. Fur-
thermore, the inlet and outlet of the pump are concentric to the
hole of the piezoelectric actuator. The upper pump shell had a check
Fig. 10. Frequency vs. ow rate of the pump with different numbers of vibrators.
Fig. 11. Frequency vs. pressure of the pump with different numbers of vibrators.
169
valve glued to its outside surface, and the lower pump shell had a
check valve glued to its inside surface. The outlet chamber and the
inlet chamber each had a height of 2 mm. The inlet and outlet pipe
(diameter of 8 mm) was glued to the surface of the pump body,
respectively.
Figs. 10 and 11 show the output performance of piezoelectric
pumps with different numbers of vibrators. The general trend of
Fig. 10 shows that with increasing frequency, the ow rate increases
and then decreases. At frequencies lower than 300 Hz, the perfor-
mance of the pump with a single vibrator is similar to the pump
with dual vibrators and the upper actuator working alone. At fre-
quencies higher than 300 Hz, the performance of the former is
signicantly larger than that of the latter. At frequencies lower
than 260 Hz, the performance of the pump with dual vibrators
in the asynchronous mode is larger than the former two condi-
tions; at frequencies higher than 260 Hz, the opposite ordering is
found. The maximal ow rate and the optimal working frequency
of the pump with single vibrator and with dual vibrators actuated
asynchronously are 2184.7 and 1678.2 ml/min and 320 and 240 Hz,
respectively. The experimental data show that the optimal work-
ing frequency decreases with an increasing number of vibrators.
Between frequencies of 40 Hz and 220 Hz, the ow rate perfor-
mance rises slightly with increasing numbers of vibrators, and the
performance decreases as the frequency increases from 220 Hz to
400 Hz. As the number of vibrators increases, the synchronization
between valves and actuators decreases gradually, and the phase
difference between the valves increases. At a certain frequency
170 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172
Fig. 12. Sectional diagram of the cantilever valve structure.
Fig. 13. Mechanical model of cantilever valve.
value, the coordination between valves decreases, preventing the
valves from opening completely and reducing valve efciency.
Fig. 11 shows the frequency vs. pressure of the piezoelectric
pumps with different numbers of vibrators. The highest pressure
and optimal working frequency for the pump with a single vibrator
are 0.89 kPa and 140 Hz, and for the pump with dual vibrators in the
asynchronous mode are 2.18 kPa and 160 Hz, respectively. Experi-
mental data show the output pressure increases signicantly with
the number of vibrators. On account of the pump with dual vibra-
tors and actuator upper working alone has one more check valve
than the pump with a single vibrator what takes better effect of
anti-reux.
4. Optimized design of check valve
Most of the piezoelectric pumps consist of a chamber to drive an
actuator, and the check valve to take an on/off role of input and out-
put. Taking the piezoelectric pump with a single vibrator as a typical
example and testing the two normal types of the check valves, in
order to choose a suitable type of the valve to improve its output
performance.
4.1. Cantilever check valve
Cantilever check valve is a passive one-way valve, where a ap
over a duct controls the ow. Fig. 12 is the sectional diagram of
the cantilever valve structure. The valves were glued on the pump
shells and the surface of the PZT actuators directly, the ap can
move freely. With the cantilever beam moves up, uid moves
through the gap between valves and orices.
Fig. 13 shows the mechanical model of cantilever valve. The
displacement of open section as follows:
0xa
qbx2
= (3b + 3a 2x)
12EI
axb
qa3 4
= (x 4bx3 6b2 x2 4a3 x + a4 )
12EI
q  4  asynchronously are 2184.7 and 1678.2 ml/min and 320 and 240 Hz,
max = 3b 4a3 b + a4
24EI
Fig. 14. Operation principle of wheel valve.
where q refers to the force on valve, b is the length of valve, a is the
length of valve unstressed. The above three factors and thickness
of the valve has inuences on its opening degree.
With the effect of pressure, ow through the cantilever valve as
follows [11,12]:

2P
Q = 2rCmax (4)

Where C is discharge coefcient, r is radius of valve, max is maxi-
mum deection on the end of cantilever valve,  is uid density.
4.2. Wheel check valve
Fig. 14 shows the schematic of wheel check valve, the valve
moves up with force-deformation. The displacement of wheel valve
according to mechanical model as follows [13]:
 2
r2
= 0 1 (5)
a2

3 qa(1v)2
Where w0 = 0.723a Eh
,
The displacement of the center point of wheel valve as follows:

3 qa(1 v)2
wmax = w0 = 0.723a (6)
Eh
Eq. (6) shows material of valve, radius of valve, thickness of valve
and force on valve that have inuences on its opening degree.
4.3. Optimization experiment on thickness of the check valve
A series of experiments were made with air as working medium
and the actuation voltage is 80 V. Tables 1 and 2 show the ow rate
and output pressure of the two types of check valves with thickness
of 0.1 mm, 0.125 mm, 0.188 mm and 0.2 mm.
Tables 1 and 2 show that the output performance decreases after
an initial increase with the thickness increases. When the thickness
of the check valves is 0.188 mm, the performance is the best. Com-
parison between Tables 1 and 2 shows that the performance of the
pump with wheel check valves is better than that with cantilever
check valves.
5. Conclusion
(1)
The design of a piezoelectric pump with dual vibrators is pre-
sented in this study, and the output performance of the pump is
analysed under different experimental working modes. At a voltage
(2)
of 60 V, the maximal ow rate and the optimal working frequency
for the pump with single vibrator and with dual vibrators actuated
(3)
and the highest pressure and optimal working frequency are 0.89
 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172 171

Table 1
Output performance inuenced by thickness of wheel valve.

Thickness(mm) Frequency of maximum ow(Hz) Maximum ow(ml/min) Frequency of maximum pressure(Hz) Maximum pressure(kPa)

0.1 340 2208.4 160 0.95

0.125 340 2311.6 160 1.06
0.188 340 2415.2 160 1.22
0.2 340 2296.9 160 1.14

Table 2
Output performance inuenced by thickness of cantilever valve.

Thickness(mm) Frequency of maximum ow(Hz) Maximum ow(ml/min) Frequency of maximum pressure(Hz) Maximum pressure(kPa)

0.1 320 2184.7 140 0.89

0.125 320 2215 140 1.03
0.188 320 2318.4 140 1.18
0.2 320 2272.3 140 1.11

and 2.18 kPa and 140 and 160 Hz, respectively. The output perfor-
mance of the pump with a single vibrator is the highest with a check
valve thickness of 0.188 mm; a wheel check valve performs better
than a cantilever valve. These research results show that the ow
rate and output pressure of the pump with dual vibrators is better
under asynchronous operation than synchronous; the performance
of the pump with the upper actuator working alone is better than
that with the lower actuator working alone.
Biographies
Jing Shi Dong was born in 1973. He received his ME and
PhD degrees from Jilin University, China,in 2004 and 2012.
He is currently an Associate Professor in the College of
Mechanical Science and Engineering, Jilin University. His
research interests include micro integrative technique of
mechanics-electronics-hydraulics, precision machinery.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the nancial support

from Project of No. 51405189 and No. 81171481 supported by Rui Gang Liu received his BE degree from Jilin University,
National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Postdoc- China, in 2011. He is currently studying for his ME degree
in the School Of Mechanical Science And Engineering at
toral Science Foundation (No. 2014M551195) and Project 2016072 Jilin University. He is focused on the precision machinery.
supported by Graduate Innovation Fund of Jilin University.

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172 J.S. Dong et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 257 (2017) 165172
Yang Yang received his BE degree from Liaoning Technical
University, China, in 2011. He is currently studying for his
ME degree in the School Of Mechanical Science And Engi-
neering at Jilin University. He is focused on the precision
machinery.
Yue Wu was born in 1984. He received his PhD degrees
from Jilin University, China, in 2013, He is currently a
Lecturer in the College of Mechanical Science and Engi-
neering, Jilin University. His research interests include
micro machine and precision machinery.
Zhi Gang Yang was born in 1956. He received his PhD
degrees from Jilin University, China, in 1956, He is cur-
rently a Professor in the College of Mechanical Science
and Engineering, Jilin University. His research interests
include piezoelectric drive and control technology,micro
machine and precision machinery.
Bai Song Lin was born in 1969. He received his BE degrees
from Bethune Medical University, China, in 1992. He is
currently a Professor and a Chief Physician in China-Japan
Friendship Hospital of Jilin University. His research inter-
ests is cardiovascular surgery.