Performance and development of a miniature rotary shaft pump

The development and performance of a novel miniature pump called the rotary shaft pump (RSP) is described. The impeller is made by boring a 1.168 mm hole in one end of a 2.38 mm dia shaft and cutting slots in the side of the shaft at the bottom of the bored hole such that the metal between the slots defines the impeller blades. The impeller blades and slots are 0.38 mm tall. Several impeller designs are tested over a range of operating conditions. Pump performance characteristics, including pressure rise, hydraulic efficiency, slipjactor and flow rate, are presented for several different pump configurations, with maximum flow rate and pressure rise of 64.9 ml/min and 2.1 kPa, respectively, when the working fluid is water Potential applications include transport of biomedical fluids, drug delivery, total analysis systems, and electronics cooling.