Abstract
This paper presents a leak-tight piezoelectric microvalve, operating at extremely high upstream pressures for microspacecraft applications. The device is a normally-closed microvalve fabricated mostly by the micromachining of silicon wafers. The microvalve consists of a custom-designed piezoelectric stack actuator bonded onto silicon valve components, such as the seat, boss and tether, in a stainless steel housing. Major seating configurations include narrow edge seating rings and tensile-stressed silicon tethers that contribute to the desired normally-closed leak-tight operation. The microvalve operations have been demonstrated with a 'helium leak detector scale' leak rate of 10-4 sccm at 800 psi. Dynamic microvalve operations of up to 1 kHz have been successfully demonstrated at the pressures in the range of 0-1000 psi. The measured static flow rate of a microvalve with an applied potential of 10 V is 52 sccm at an inlet pressure of 300psi. The measured power consumption, to hold the microvalve seat fully open, is 3 mW with the applied potential of 30 V. The measured dynamic power consumption is 180 mW for 100 Hz continuous operation at 100 psi.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages | 80-83 |
Number of pages | 4 |
State | Published - 2003 |
Event | IEEE Sixteenth Annual International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems - Kyoto, Japan Duration: 19 Jan 2003 → 23 Jan 2003 |
Conference
Conference | IEEE Sixteenth Annual International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems |
---|---|
Country/Territory | Japan |
City | Kyoto |
Period | 19/01/03 → 23/01/03 |