A novel valveless micropump with electrohydrodynamic enhancement for high heat flux cooling

Integrated microchannel cooling systems, with micropumps integrated into microchannels, are an attractive alternative to stand-alone micropumps for liquid-cooled microchannel heat sinks. A new micropump design capable of integration into microchannels and especially suited for electronics cooling is presented. It combines induction electrohydrodynamics (EHD) with a valveless nozzle-diffuser micropump actuated using a vibrating diaphragm. A comprehensive numerical model of the micropump has been developed to study the combined effect of EHD and valveless micropumping. The numerical model has been validated using theoretical and experimental results from the literature. The flow rate achievable from the new micropump is presented and the effect of several key parameters on the micropump performance investigated.