From bending actuators to a peristaltic micropump: Modeling and design analysis

Composite materials with piezoelectric layers offer completely new possibilites in the design of technical systems such as integrated impact sensors, vibration dampers, actuators for optical systems or medical compontents. In this paper, we present new results dealing with the design of a peristaltic micropump. Using the finite element method, several design variants are analyzed and discussed. Several composite materials and electrode structures are considered. The influence of the material properties, layer thickness, polarization direction on the resulting flow rate and pressures is established and discussed.