Fabrication and testing of a small pump composed of a magnet and an elastic plate

A new type of micro-pump using an angular movement of an elastic plate is proposed. The moving part of the pump consists of a small permanent magnet attached to an elastic plate. If an alternating magnetic field is applied, the magnet vibrates angularly due to magnetic torque and then the polyimide film causes a unidirectional movement of fluid. A cm-size pump based on this mechanism has been constructed and tested. The maximum flow rate of 750 ml/min and the maximum pressure of approximately 4.2 kPa were achieved when ethyl alcohol was used as a working fluid.