Metal additive manufacturing of a high-pressure micro-pump

For the thermal control of future space applications pumped two-phase loops are an essential part to handle the increasing thermal power densities. This study investigates the design of a reliable, leak tight, low-weight and high-pressure micro-pump for small satellite applications. The developed micro-pump uses a piezoelectric disk to create a pressure head and propel the working fluid. The micro-pumps are produced from Titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) as a metal additive manufacturing technique. Two types of micro-valve designs are explored, namely (1) no moving parts valves and (2) passive check valves. Experimental validation shows promising results especially for micro-pumps using passive check micro-valves. Finally, the assembly of the entire micro-pump has been designed for SLM production. In the end, this would enable the future use of micro-pumps for space applications. Metal additive manufacturing, as relatively new manufacturing system, showcases promising results for both research work and final production. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.