A Novel Ferrofluid-Based Valve-Less Pump

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the development of a fluidic pump, magnetically actuated by a ferrofluid through a circular channel. The pump has a rotary design with a tangential input and output. It is designed to house a magnet to create a ferrofluid plug in one place between the inlet and outlet. There are two magnets outside of the housing attached to a rotating apparatus that move the ferrofluid around. The ferrofluid then moves around the channel, taking in and moving water through the channel towards the outlet. The pump was fabricated using a 3D printing technique. The pump was tested at three different configurations at a zero back pressure including single small moving magnet, double small moving magnet and single large moving magnet. The volumetric flow rate was measured at different rotational speeds from 9.375 rpm to 25 rpm. The highest average flow rate measured was 0.8 ml/min at 25 rpm with a single large magnet. This pump can be used for a circuit board cooling device; the pump would deliver a coolant through miniature tubes to cool the system.