Buckling of dielectric elastomeric plates for soft, electrically active microfluidic pumps

Behrouz Tavakol, Michael Bozlar, Christian Punckt, Guillaume Froehlicher, Howard A. Stone, Ilhan A. Aksay, Douglas P. Holmes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

Elastic instabilities, when properly implemented within soft, mechanical structures, can generate advanced functionality. In this work, we use the voltage-induced buckling of thin, flexible plates to pump fluids within a microfluidic channel. The soft electrodes that enable electrical actuation are compatible with fluids, and undergo large, reversible deformations. We quantified the onset of voltage-induced buckling, and measured the flow rate within the microchannel. This embeddable, flexible microfluidic pump will aid in the generation of new stand-alone microfluidic devices that require a tunable flow rate.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4789-4794
Number of pages6
JournalSoft matter
Volume10
Issue number27
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 21 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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