Cargando…
Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation
The development of a novel lead-free microelectromechanical-system (MEMS)-based atomizer using the principle of thermal bubble actuation is presented. It is a low-cost, lead-free design that is environmentally friendly and harmless to humans. It has been tested to be applicable over a wide range of...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Nature Publishing Group
2017
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225484/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28074925 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep40289 |
_version_ | 1782493515930927104 |
---|---|
author | Law, Junhui Kong, Ka Wai Chan, Ho-Yin Sun, Winston Li, Wen Jung Chau, Eric Boa Fung Chan, George Kak Man |
author_facet | Law, Junhui Kong, Ka Wai Chan, Ho-Yin Sun, Winston Li, Wen Jung Chau, Eric Boa Fung Chan, George Kak Man |
author_sort | Law, Junhui |
collection | PubMed |
description | The development of a novel lead-free microelectromechanical-system (MEMS)-based atomizer using the principle of thermal bubble actuation is presented. It is a low-cost, lead-free design that is environmentally friendly and harmless to humans. It has been tested to be applicable over a wide range of fluid viscosities, ranging from 1 cP (e.g., water) to 200 cP (e.g., oil-like fluid) at room temperature, a range that is difficult to achieve using ordinary atomizers. The results demonstrate that the average power consumption of the atomizer is approximately 1 W with an atomization rate of 0.1 to 0.3 mg of deionized (DI) water per cycle. The relationships between the micro-heater track width and the track gap, the size of the micro-cavities and the nucleation energy were studied to obtain an optimal atomizer design. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) results indicate that the diameter of the ejected droplets ranges from 30 to 90 μm with a speed of 20 to 340 mm/s. In addition, different modes of spraying are reported for the first time. It is envisioned that the successful development of this MEMS-based atomizing technology will revolutionize the existing market for atomizers and could also benefit different industries, particularly in applications involving viscous fluids. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5225484 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2017 |
publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-52254842017-01-17 Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation Law, Junhui Kong, Ka Wai Chan, Ho-Yin Sun, Winston Li, Wen Jung Chau, Eric Boa Fung Chan, George Kak Man Sci Rep Article The development of a novel lead-free microelectromechanical-system (MEMS)-based atomizer using the principle of thermal bubble actuation is presented. It is a low-cost, lead-free design that is environmentally friendly and harmless to humans. It has been tested to be applicable over a wide range of fluid viscosities, ranging from 1 cP (e.g., water) to 200 cP (e.g., oil-like fluid) at room temperature, a range that is difficult to achieve using ordinary atomizers. The results demonstrate that the average power consumption of the atomizer is approximately 1 W with an atomization rate of 0.1 to 0.3 mg of deionized (DI) water per cycle. The relationships between the micro-heater track width and the track gap, the size of the micro-cavities and the nucleation energy were studied to obtain an optimal atomizer design. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) results indicate that the diameter of the ejected droplets ranges from 30 to 90 μm with a speed of 20 to 340 mm/s. In addition, different modes of spraying are reported for the first time. It is envisioned that the successful development of this MEMS-based atomizing technology will revolutionize the existing market for atomizers and could also benefit different industries, particularly in applications involving viscous fluids. Nature Publishing Group 2017-01-11 /pmc/articles/PMC5225484/ /pubmed/28074925 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep40289 Text en Copyright © 2017, The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
spellingShingle | Article Law, Junhui Kong, Ka Wai Chan, Ho-Yin Sun, Winston Li, Wen Jung Chau, Eric Boa Fung Chan, George Kak Man Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title | Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title_full | Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title_fullStr | Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title_full_unstemmed | Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title_short | Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation |
title_sort | atomization of high-viscosity fluids for aromatherapy using micro-heaters for heterogeneous bubble nucleation |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225484/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28074925 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep40289 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT lawjunhui atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT kongkawai atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT chanhoyin atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT sunwinston atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT liwenjung atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT chauericboafung atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation AT changeorgekakman atomizationofhighviscosityfluidsforaromatherapyusingmicroheatersforheterogeneousbubblenucleation |