title: Buckling of dielectric elastomeric plates for soft, electrically active microfluidic pumps.
abstract: Elastic instabilities, when properly implemented within soft, mechanical structures, can generate advanced functionality. In this work, we use the voltage-induced buckling of thin, flexible plates to pump fluids within a microfluidic channel. The soft electrodes that enable electrical actuation are compatible with fluids, and undergo large, reversible deformations. We quantified the onset of voltage-induced buckling, and measured the flow rate within the microchannel. This embeddable, flexible microfluidic pump will aid in the generation of new stand-alone microfluidic devices that require a tunable flow rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science & Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. dpholmes@vt.edu.
authors.forename: Behrouz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tavakol
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozlar
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Punckt
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Froehlicher
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Ilhan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Aksay
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Holmes