Development of a latchable microvalve employing a low-melting-temperature metal alloy

Kashan A. Shaikh; Shifeng Li; Chang Liu

doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2003055

Development of a latchable microvalve employing a low-melting-temperature metal alloy

Kashan A. Shaikh^*, Shifeng Li, Chang Liu

^*Corresponding author for this work

Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a latchable microvalve. The valve can be held in the ON- or OFF-state without consuming power. A low-melting-temperature metal alloy provides structural support to hold the valve in place when latched. The metal alloy piece liquefies when it is heated above 62 °C, allowing a pneumatic actuator to change the valve state. When the metal cools and solidifies, the valve is once again latched. This type of valve may be useful for portable lab-on-a-chip devices that require low-power operation and long-term fluid storage. A thin-film metal heater has been integrated into the polydimethylsiloxane device to provide localized heating for individual valve elements. Valve closing and opening response times have been simulated and verified by experiment. The burst pressure has been experimentally characterized and parameters influencing this burst pressure have been modeled.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1195-1203
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems
Volume	17
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2003055
State	Published - 2008

Keywords

Bismuth alloys
Fluid flow control
Fluidics
Modeling
Valves

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Mechanical Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2003055

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title = "Development of a latchable microvalve employing a low-melting-temperature metal alloy",

abstract = "We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a latchable microvalve. The valve can be held in the ON- or OFF-state without consuming power. A low-melting-temperature metal alloy provides structural support to hold the valve in place when latched. The metal alloy piece liquefies when it is heated above 62 °C, allowing a pneumatic actuator to change the valve state. When the metal cools and solidifies, the valve is once again latched. This type of valve may be useful for portable lab-on-a-chip devices that require low-power operation and long-term fluid storage. A thin-film metal heater has been integrated into the polydimethylsiloxane device to provide localized heating for individual valve elements. Valve closing and opening response times have been simulated and verified by experiment. The burst pressure has been experimentally characterized and parameters influencing this burst pressure have been modeled.",

keywords = "Bismuth alloys, Fluid flow control, Fluidics, Modeling, Valves",

author = "Shaikh, {Kashan A.} and Shifeng Li and Chang Liu",

note = "Funding Information: Manuscript received October 14, 2007; revised January 31, 2008 and June 11, 2008. First published September 12, 2008; current version published October 1, 2008. This work was supported by the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative of the National Science Foundation under National Science Foundation Award EEC-0118025, and also by the National Institutes of Health under cancer nanotechnology programs. Subject Editor F. Ayazi.",

year = "2008",

doi = "10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2003055",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "17",

pages = "1195--1203",

journal = "Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems",

issn = "1057-7157",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

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AU - Shaikh, Kashan A.

AU - Li, Shifeng

AU - Liu, Chang

N1 - Funding Information: Manuscript received October 14, 2007; revised January 31, 2008 and June 11, 2008. First published September 12, 2008; current version published October 1, 2008. This work was supported by the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative of the National Science Foundation under National Science Foundation Award EEC-0118025, and also by the National Institutes of Health under cancer nanotechnology programs. Subject Editor F. Ayazi.

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a latchable microvalve. The valve can be held in the ON- or OFF-state without consuming power. A low-melting-temperature metal alloy provides structural support to hold the valve in place when latched. The metal alloy piece liquefies when it is heated above 62 °C, allowing a pneumatic actuator to change the valve state. When the metal cools and solidifies, the valve is once again latched. This type of valve may be useful for portable lab-on-a-chip devices that require low-power operation and long-term fluid storage. A thin-film metal heater has been integrated into the polydimethylsiloxane device to provide localized heating for individual valve elements. Valve closing and opening response times have been simulated and verified by experiment. The burst pressure has been experimentally characterized and parameters influencing this burst pressure have been modeled.

AB - We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a latchable microvalve. The valve can be held in the ON- or OFF-state without consuming power. A low-melting-temperature metal alloy provides structural support to hold the valve in place when latched. The metal alloy piece liquefies when it is heated above 62 °C, allowing a pneumatic actuator to change the valve state. When the metal cools and solidifies, the valve is once again latched. This type of valve may be useful for portable lab-on-a-chip devices that require low-power operation and long-term fluid storage. A thin-film metal heater has been integrated into the polydimethylsiloxane device to provide localized heating for individual valve elements. Valve closing and opening response times have been simulated and verified by experiment. The burst pressure has been experimentally characterized and parameters influencing this burst pressure have been modeled.

KW - Bismuth alloys

KW - Fluid flow control

KW - Fluidics

KW - Modeling

KW - Valves

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Development of a latchable microvalve employing a low-melting-temperature metal alloy

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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