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A Laminar Flow-Based Microfluidic Tesla Pump via Lithography Enabled 3D Printing
Mohammed-Baker Habhab1, Tania Ismail2, Joe Fujiou Lo3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering Program, University of Michigan at Dearborn, 2088 IAVS Building, 4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn, MI 48128, USA. mihabhab@umich.edu.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 26, 2016
Summary
Researchers developed a microscale Tesla pump using 3D printing, overcoming limitations of traditional turbines. This innovation enables precise microfluidic gradient generation for compact lab-on-a-chip applications.
Area of Science:
- Fluid Dynamics
- Microfluidics
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- The Tesla turbine, invented in 1913, faced implementation challenges due to laminar flow difficulties and efficiency issues.
- Scaling down to the microfluidic regime offers a potential solution to overcome these limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate a microscale Tesla pump.
- To address the limitations of traditional Tesla turbines for microfluidic applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Digital Light Processing (DLP) based 3D printing for fabrication.
- Achieved resolutions of 43 µm lateral and 30 µm thickness.
- Characterized the pump at a low Reynolds number (1000).
Main Results:
- The microscale Tesla pump achieved a flow rate of up to 12.6 mL/min at 1200 rpm.
- The pump successfully drove a mixer network to generate microfluidic gradients.
- Demonstrated suitability for flow-sensitive microfluidics.
Conclusions:
- Microscale Tesla pumps can overcome traditional limitations.
- 3D printing enables efficient fabrication of microfluidic devices.
- This technology facilitates compact lab-on-a-chip applications requiring continuous, laminar flow.
