DEVELOPMENT OF PASSIVE MICROVALVES BY THE FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD

The combination of a stiff titanium membrane and a flexible polyimide membrane was used to form a check valve for a micropump. This work is concerned with calculating the performance of such a microvalve and mo difying its design so that instead of acting as an inlet valve, it fun ctions as an outlet valve. It will be demonstrated here by application of the finite element method how design solutions can be found to thi s problem. Both the deflection behavior of the microvalve membrane exp osed to the pressure and the stresses generated at the clamping points of the membrane structures have been calculated.