A Study on Enhancing the Performance of ECF Micropumps Under Various Parameters Using the Finite Element Method

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the performance characteristics of an electro-conjugate fluid (ECF) micropump under the effects of various parameters. Four important parameters, i.e., the fluid Reynolds number (0 ≤ Re_f ≤ 2 × 10⁰), the electric Reynolds number (10^–4 ≤ Re_e ≤ 10⁰), the Peclet number (0 ≤ Pe ≤ 4 × 10³), and the number for mobility ratio (0 ≤ Mc ≤ 1 × 10⁴), were considered. Additionally, the applied voltage varied from 4 kV to 8 kV. The finite element method was used to solve the multiphysic fluid flow problem. Consequently, electro-hydraulic performance is significantly affected by those four important parameters. The efficiency of the micropump increases with either increasing Pe and Mc or decreasing Re_e. Moreover, the maximum efficiency reaches up to 17%, which is the highest figure recorded in this field. The results obtained are very useful to gain insight into the dynamic behavior of ECF flow and potentially enhance the performance of the ECF micropump.