Flow transport in a microchannel induced by moving wall contractions: a novel micropumping mechanism

A novel micropumping mechanism based on a theoretical model that describes flow transport in a microchannel induced by moving wall contractions in the low Reynolds number flow regime is presented. The channel is assumed to have a length that is much greater than its width (delta = W/L << 1) and the upper wall is subjected to prescribed, non-peristaltic, localized moving contractions. Lubrication theory for incompressible viscous flow at low Reynolds number (R-e similar to delta) is used to model the problem mathematically and to derive expressions for the velocity components, pressure gradient, wall shear stress, and net flow produced by the wall contractions. The effect of contraction parameters such as amplitude and phase lag on the time-averaged net flow over a single cycle of wall motions is studied. The results presented here are supported by passive particle tracking simulations to investigate the possibility of using this system as a pumping mechanism. The present study is motivated by collapse mechanisms observed in entomological physiological systems that use multiple contractions to transport fluid, and the emerging novel microfluidic devices that mimic these systems.