Print Email Facebook Twitter An Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC)-Driven Linear Peristaltic Microfluidic Pump Title An Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC)-Driven Linear Peristaltic Microfluidic Pump Author Sideris, Eva Ann (Eindhoven University of Technology) De Lange, Hendrik Cornelis (Eindhoven University of Technology) Hunt, A. (TU Delft Micro and Nano Engineering) Date 2020 Abstract Microfluidic devices and micro-pumps are increasingly necessitated in many fields ranging from untethered soft robots, to pharmaceutical and biomedical technology. While realization of such devices is limited by miniaturization constraints of conventional actuators, these restrictions can be resolved by using smart material transducers instead. This paper proposes and investigates the first ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuator-driven linear peristaltic pump. With the aim of designing a monolithic device, our concept is based on a single IPMC actuator that is etched on both sides and cut with kirigami-inspired slits by laser ablation. Our pump has a planar configuration, operates with low activation voltages (< 5 V) and is simple to manufacture and thus miniaturize. We build proof-of-principle prototypes of an open and closed design of our proposed pump concept, model the closed design, and evaluate both configurations experimentally. Results show the feasibility of the proposed IPMC-driven pump. Without any optimization, the open pump achieved pumping rates of 669 pL/s, while the closed pump configuration attained a 4.57 Pa pressure buildup and 9.18 nL/s pumping rate. These results indicate feasibility of the concept, and future work will focus on design optimization. Subject ActuatorsBiomimeticsClampsElectrodesIonic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC)Laser beam cuttingMedical Robots and SystemsMetalsMicrofluidicsPeristaltic PumpPolymersSmart materials To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b9902470-c086-4fd1-982e-a42e05935b84 DOI https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2020.3015452 ISSN 2377-3766 Source IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 5 (4), 6788-6795 Bibliographical note Accepted Author Manuscript Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2020 Eva Ann Sideris, Hendrik Cornelis De Lange, A. Hunt Files PDF 09165175.pdf 4.08 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:b9902470-c086-4fd1-982e-a42e05935b84/datastream/OBJ/view