Étude de clapets passifs et de leur intégration dans une micro-pompe

TL;DR: In this paper, the deformation of a micro-fluid valve and the flow in the valve were modeled and validated via experiments on micro-pumps, and an accurate model of the pump was set up and validated by tests on pump prototypes.

Abstract: Although always attracted by extending his knowledge both in the micro and the macro fields, man was able at first to develop skills only in large-sized applications. Quite recently, in the 17th century and with the invention of the microscope, it became possible to explore the micro-domain and it is only in recent decades, within the era of microelectronics, that we were able to produce very small devices. The development of non-miniature electronic systems followed the trend of miniaturization in microelectronics. It is when fluidic components joined in that we started talking about micro-fluidics, and this is the field of the present work. Micro-fluidics is the science or technology of systems that process or manipulate small quantities of liquids in pipes with characteristic dimensions ranging from a dozen to several hundred micrometers. Its advantages are: miniaturization giving access to new applications; the fact of manipulating small quantities of liquid allowing us to reduce the required number of samples and consumption of reactives, as well as the time of analysis; a change in scale laws giving access to new fluid transport principles. Micro-pumps are at the centre of micro-fluidics. Mechanical micro-pumps have micro-valves as key components. These are critical in the pump’s behaviour and that is why we chose to study them. The first task was to determine the particular design of the valve. Next we modelled the behaviour of this valve, implying the analysis of both the deformation of the spring and the flow in the valve. Models were validated via experiments on valve prototypes. The dynamical action of the valve was studied by integrating it in a pumping system. An accurate model of the pump was set up and validated via tests on pump prototypes. This allowed us to understand and explain the operation of the pump, and to evaluate the influence of several parameters on the pumping performances. We end this study by giving a few possible improvements for our pump scheme, and further developments or tests.