Deisgn of a miniature pulsatile pump

Abstract

As research and technology (R&D) in today’s society become more advance, manufacturers and users are looking into producing pumps that are more application specific. In the application of designing a miniature pulsatile pump for food, medical and pharmaceutical use, important design features to note includes constraint in size and flow capacity and hence provide a reasonable flow rate to serve a function. In this project, three pump design experimental setups are fabricated and tested. Each of these experimental setups, namely, the 1 pump 2mm hole stopper, 2 pumps 1mm hole stopper and the 2 pumps 2mm hole stopper are tested for their flow rate and pressure at different motor speeds. Each design involves using a reciprocating displacement pump. The stopper acts as a valve to allow effective positive flow during the compression stroke and maintaining some forward flow during the expansion stroke. Magnets were used on the exterior of the acrylic piping which were attached to the linkages and hence connected to the motor. When the motor was switched on, the linkages rotated, causing a repeated linear action that is parallel to the pipe line. Since there is no valve, seal or piston rod used to move the pumps, the pump design is simple and compact.