Abstract. A small-sized, high momentum rate (>10⁻² N), dynamically actuated microvalve fulfilling the functional specifications for active aerodynamic flow control was designed, fabricated and characterized. The prototype consists of a microfabricated silicon channel pinched by an actuated poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) polymer membrane. Actuation is provided by coupling an inductive driving coil and a NdFeB permanent magnet fixed on the PDMS elastomeric membrane. The development of a specific microfabrication process, and a complete characterization of the fabricated prototypes are presented in this paper. The yield air microjet performances reach 150 m s⁻¹ for an actuation frequency situated in the range [0 Hz–400 Hz] and an outlet area of about 1 . Experimental results also show that the use of a vectoring plate placed at the outlet of the microvalve provided not only easier integration of the microsystem, but also improved the penetration of the microjet into the main flow.

Print publication: Issue 11 (November 2009)
Received 7 April 2009, in final form 4 September 2009
Published 20 October 2009