Polyvinyl chloride-added dibutyl adipate for high-performance electrohydrodynamic pumps

Area of Science:

• Fluid Dynamics
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumps offer simple, silent fluid manipulation.
• EHD pump performance is critically dependent on working fluid properties like conductivity, viscosity, and permittivity.
• Tuning these fluid properties can lead to improved EHD pump efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of additive modification on the performance of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumps.
• To determine the optimal concentration of an additive for enhancing EHD pump parameters.
• To demonstrate a method for improving EHD pump efficiency through working fluid modification.

Main Methods:

• Dibutyl adipate (DBA) was used as the working fluid.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was employed as an additive to modify the fluid properties.
• The flow rate and pressure of the EHD pump were measured at various applied voltages and PVC concentrations.

Main Results:

• A PVC concentration of 0.2% in DBA resulted in the highest flow rate (7.85 μL/s) and pressure (1.63 kPa) at 8 kV, representing a 109% and 40% improvement, respectively, over pure DBA.
• At 10 kV, DBA with 0.2% PVC achieved a flow rate of 10.95 μL/s and pressure of 2.07 kPa, exceeding FC40 performance by over five times.
• Optimal conductivity and viscosity values were identified for maximizing EHD pump performance.

Conclusions:

• Modifying working fluid properties with additives is a valid strategy for enhancing EHD pump performance.
• The addition of PVC to DBA significantly improves flow rate and pressure, offering a pathway to high-performance EHD systems.
• The study highlights the existence of optimal fluid parameters for maximizing EHD pump efficiency.