National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory
California
Institute of Technology
Microvalves to
provide precision flow control of gas and liquids.
Targeted for micropropulsion systems toward future space missions requiring miniaturized components. Increasing force on the valve seat reduces the leak
rates:
Active zone
Active zone
Inactive zone
Tether
Outlet
Inlet
Seat ring
Piezoelectric Stack
Boss
Plate
Seat
Plate
E. H. Yang, C. S. Lee, J. Mueller
and T. George, "Leak-Tight Piezoelectric Microvalve for
High-Pressure Gas Micropropulsion," IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical
Systems, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 799-807, Oct. 2004.
~
3 mW (static) at 30 V
<
1 W
Power
0~1000
psi
300~
3000 psi
Inlet
pressure
~30
ms
<
10 ms
Response
time
~
5x10-3 sccm/He at 800 psi
<
5x10-3 sccm/He
Leak
rate
Demonstrated
Target
Requirements
High-Pressure,
Leak-Tight, Piezoelectric
Microvalve