• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.573-576
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• 2009

We present a passive flow-rate regulator, capable to compensate inlet pressure variation and to maintain a constant flow-rate for precise liquid control. Deflection of the parallel membrane valves in the passive flowrate regulator adjusts fluidic resistance according to inlet fluid pressure without any external energy. Compared to previous passive flow-rate regulators, the present device achieves precision flow regulation functions at the lower threshold compensation pressure of 20kPa with the simpler structure. In the experimental study, the fabricated device achieves the constant flow-rate of $6.09{\pm}0.32{\mu}l/s$ over the inlet pressure range of $20{\sim}50$ kPa. The present flow-rate regulator having simple structure and lower compensation pressure level demonstrates potentials for use in integrated micropump systems.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.825-829
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• 2011

We performed a dynamic characterization of passive flow-rate regulators, which compensate for inlet pressure variation and maintain a constant flow rate for precise liquid control in microfluidic systems. To measure the flow rate for a short time, much less than the period of the dynamic inlet pressure, we use the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method. DI water containing fluorescent beads with a $0.7-{\mu}m$ diameter was supplied to the flow-rate regulators, and two successive images of the particles were taken by a pulse laser and a fluorescent microscope to measure the flow velocity. For a dynamic inlet pressure of frequency 60 Hz, the flow velocity was constant with an average of 0.194 ${\pm}$ 0.014 m/s as the inlet pressure varied between 20 kPa to 50 kPa. The flow-rate regulators provided a constant flow rate of $5.82{\pm}0.29\;{\mu}l/s$ in the frequency range of the inlet pressure from 1 Hz to 60 Hz.