DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF AN ELECTROSTATIC MICROPUMP WITH PULL-IN AND HYSTERESIS PHENOMENA

After presenting the role of micropumps in medical applications and de monstrating that an electrostatic micropump would seem to be the most appropriate, the geometrical and electrical static characteristics of this pump are summarized. Classical dynamic simulations do not take in to account the pull-in effect or the hysteresis phenomenon, both of wh ich appear in electrostatic micropumps. The novel principle of dynamic simulation, which includes these two non-linear characteristics, is t hen outlined; changes in pressure, volume, how and current are also ca lculated. The last section displays the advantages associated with thi s global simulation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserve d.