System, method, and apparatus for microscale plasma actuation
AssigneeUniversity of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorsSubrata Roy, Chin-Cheng (James) Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device is provided having a flow passage with at least one surface and at least one electrode pair positioned thereon for effecting fluid flow through the flow passage. When at least one electrode of an electrode pair of the at least one electrode pair is powered, a sheath region is generated in the flow passage, wherein the sheath region has a high electric field relative to the remainder of the flow passage. In an embodiment, one electrode of the electrode pair is separated from the other electrode of the electrode pair by a horizontal, vertical, depth, and/or total distance of about 1 microns.
Claims30
A device, comprising:
- a conduit having at least one surface;
- at least one electrode pair positioned on the at least one surface of the conduit for pumping a fluid through the conduit,
- wherein one electrode of each electrode pair of the at least one electrode pair is separated from the other electrode of the each electrode pair by an interelectrode distance d, wherein the interelectrode distance d is a total distance between the one electrode of the each electrode pair and the other electrode of the each electrode pair, and
- wherein the interelectrode distance d is less than 100 microns;
- and
- a voltage source,
- wherein the voltage source applies a corresponding voltage across the at least one electrode pair,
- wherein application of the corresponding voltage across the at least one electrode pair generates a corresponding at least one plasma in the conduit such that a sheath region is generated in the conduit, and causes a corresponding at least one electrohydrodynamic body force to the fluid in the conduit, and
- wherein either the sheath region extends from a cathode of the at least one electrode pair such that the number density of ions in the sheath region is greater than the number density of electrons in the sheath region, or the sheath region extends from an anode of the at least one electrode pair such that the number density of ions in the sheath region is less than the number density of electrons in the sheath region.
A method of flowing a fluid, comprising:
- providing a conduit having at least one surface;
- providing at least one electrode pair positioned on the at least one surface of the conduit for pumping fluid through the conduit,
- wherein one electrode of each electrode pair of the at least one electrode pair is separated from the other electrode of the each electrode pair by an interelectrode distance d,
- wherein the interelectrode distance is a total distance between the one electrode of the each electrode pair and the other electrode of the each electrode pair,
- wherein the interelectrode distance d is less than 100 microns;
- and
- powering one or more electrode pairs of the at least one electrode pair with a certain voltage so as to create a plasma discharge in the conduit, such that a sheath region is generated in the conduit, and causes a corresponding at least one electrohydrodynamic body force to the fluid in the conduit wherein either the sheath region extends from a cathode of the at least one electrode pair such that the number density of ions in the sheath region is greater than the number density of electrons in the sheath region, or the sheath region extends from an anode of the at least one electrode pair such that the number density of ions in the sheath region is less than the number density of electrons in the sheath region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.