Abstract:

The fundamental characteristics and the flow mechanism of a Vibrating Flow Pump (VFP) with a jelly-fish valve, which can be applied to a novel artificial heart, were studied theoretically and experimentally. By using water as the working fluid, the measurement methodology for the typical unsteady flow for VFP was developed here. The effects of the frequency, amplitude and inner diameter of the vibrating pipe, and thickness of the silicone rubber sheet of the jelly-fish valve on the basic per-formance of VFP were systematically investigated. A high-speed observation technique and simple theoretical model analysis were also introduced for further detailed discussion. Quantitative contributions of the individual parameters to the pumping performance were shown through the experiment, which would give us essential knowledge for establishing design criteria of VFP. The theoretical model, which agreed with the experiment and the high-speed observation, elucidated the pumping mechanism with respect to the role of inertia of the inner fluid.

Key words: vibrating flow pump, artificial heart, left ventricular assistance, jelly-fish valve, pump performance, H-Q curve