Parameter modification model of fluid flow rate for a pneumatically-actuated PDMS membrane microvalve

This paper presents a fluid flow modeling and its parameter modification of the membrane microvalve, which significantly influences the integrated behavior of a particular pneumatic microfluidic chip. Firstly, we establish the fluid flow model using traditional mathematical method, and it is used to predict the flow rate of pneumatically-actuated PDMS membrane microvalve. Then, the degree of deviation between the experiment and numerical calculation, and micro flow characteristics in micro size are evaluated to modify the fluid flow rate of membrane microvalve. Finally, a correlation between the numerical and experimental results confirms that the fluid flow rate modeling presented in this work is applicable in developing a proper design of a pneumatic membrane microvalve.