Exp Fluids (2011) 50:12251233 DOI 10.

1007/s00348-010-0983-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Bistable diverter valve in microuidics

V. Tesar H. C. H. Bandalusena

Received: 8 December 2009 / Revised: 30 August 2010 / Accepted: 15 September 2010 / Published online: 5 October 2010 Springer-Verlag 2010

Abstract Bistable diverter valves are useful for a large number of no-moving-part ow control applications, and there is a considerable interest in using them also in microuidics, especially for handling small pressure-driven ows. However, with decreasing Reynolds number, the Coanda effecton which the ow diverting effect dependsbecomes less effective. Authors performed a study, involving ow visualisation, PIV experiments, measurements of the ow rates, and numerical oweld computations, aimed at clarifying behaviour of a typical uidic valve at low Reynolds numbers. A typical uidic valve originally developed for high Re operation was demonstrated to be useful, though with progressively limited efciency, down to surprisingly low Re values as small as Re = 800. Also observed was a previously not reported discontinuation in the otherwise monotonic decrease in performance at Re between 1,500 and 2,000.

1 Introduction Fluidic bistable diverter valves, based on the Coanda effect (Coanda 1936) of jet attachment to a wall, are very useful devices for uid ow control at small scales. Because of the absence of moving parts, they exhibit considerable robustness andif made from suitable materialsresistance to adverse operating conditions. Not limited by
V. Tesar (&) Institute of Thermomechanics ASCR, v.v.i, Prague, Czech Republic e-mail: tesar@it.cas.cz H. C. H. Bandalusena Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Shefeld, Shefeld, United Kingdom

inertia of moving components, they can operate in a wide range of frequencies. In the extensive range of known uses, two groups of applications are currently most important. One controls uid ow by switching between two devices (or a device and a by-pass). An example is the ow mul tiplexing in combinatorial chemistry systems (Tesar 2008) or controlling ow of reactants supplied into a chemical reactor, as described in Tesar (2004, 2005, 2010) (or, at small scale, into microreactors (Tesar 2009a)). In a slightly modied version (Tesar 2009d) in can keep a constant pressure across a load. In the other group of applications, the amplication properties are used, with a feedback loop layout (Warren 1962), to generate oscillation (Khefaouli et al. 2009; Gebhard et al. 1996; Gregory 2009). This can enhance heat or mass transfer rate (Tesar 2009b), prevent settling of suspensions by agitation, generate the synthetic (or hybrid-synthetic (Travncek et al. 2006)) jets for control of ow past bodies (Tesar et al. 2006, 2007; Tesar 2007), wash windows and windshields (Stouffer 1985), mix the components of a mixture (Tesar 2009c), measure ow rates (Beale and Lawler 1974; Simoes et al. 2005), or generate microbubbles in bioreactors (Zimmerman et al. 2009). In most applications, the valves are operated at rather high Reynolds numbers, of the order 10 9 103. The advantages they offer as well as the relative ease with which they may be made by microfabrication methods, such as e.g. photoetching, have recently lead to considering their use also in the modern eld of microuidics (Tesar 2001; Furlan and Zemel 1995; Simoes et al. 2002), especially in its branch based on driving the ow by hydrostatic pressure (Tesar 2007). The Coanda effect, dependent upon entrainment of outer uid into the jet issuing from the supply nozzle in the valve, becomes less efcient at low Reynolds numbers. This is due to decreasing intensity of the vortical motions at the jet outer boundary, which are mainly

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1226 Fig. 1 The design of the investigated bistable unvented diverter model, based on Tesar (2009), with the bi-cuspid splitter nose. Typical owpaths at large Reynolds numbers show the internal feedback loop and entrance vortex in the OFF collector

Exp Fluids (2011) 50:12251233

responsible for efcient entrainment. This is the limiting factor for decrease in the valve size. There are, however, several useful valve applications in microuidics not demanding any extreme valve smallness, especially in situations where the ow control valve handles combined ows into several microdevices operating in parallel. Literature, e.g. (Khefaouli et al. 2009; Gebhard et al. 1996; Furlan and Zemel 1995; Simoes et al. 2005), actually lists several successful tests with uidic valves of overall dimensions less than 1 mm, their critical dimensionwidth of the supply nozzleas small as 20 lm (Gebhard et al. 1996). In these cases, high driving pressure levels were applied (note the relations governing the pressure-driven devices descri bed in Tesar et al. (2005)) in order to have Reynolds numbers well above Re *2 9 103 i.e. safely in the turbulent ow regime. There were no systematic investigations of the consequences of decreasing the Reynolds number furtherand it is this gap which the present paper aims at lling. Literature mentions special valves operating with laminar jet, e.g. (Athavale et al. 1998), mostly as proportional ampliersnot bistable valves. For the present investigations, however, the starting point was a typical bistable valve, designed for high Re operation, testing its response to gradual decrease in the Reynolds number.

2 The problem The Coanda effect is deection of a uid jet by transversal pressure difference between its sides produced by unbalance of entrainment of the surrounding uid on the two sides caused by presence of an adjacent wall. The wall limits the available space from which the entrained uid may be supplied. As a result, pressure decreases in this space. The situation is unstable: the lower pressure there deects the jet furtherand this means the available uid in the space between the jet and the wall becomes even more scarce, further increasing the pressure unbalance.

Opposing the pressure action is inertia of the jet, tending to keep its original direction of the ow from the nozzle. This is easily overcome so that the jet nishes in the fully deected position, attached to the wall. The two mutually opposing attachment walls in the bistable diverter valve have equal opportunity to attract the jet and if the valve is symmetrical, there are two stable regimes. The only certainty is the jet cannot remain in the unstable straight state. Reynolds number may be thought of as the ratio of dynamic forces to viscous forces acting on uid (Tesar 2001). The stability of the jet deection is weaker if the Re is decreased to the values typical for microuidicsbecause of the increasing and nally dominating inuence of viscous damping. As means for enhancing the stability of the jet deection, additional dynamic effect may be introduced. A successful one among them is the creation of a stabilising feedback. This may be set up by external feedback loop channels or tubes connecting the outputs with the opposite side input terminals (Tesar 2006). Essentially, the same effect may be more easily produced by valve geometry facilitating formation of a standing trapped vortex (the feedback loop vortex in Fig. 1), inside the valve. If the valve shape is properly designed, this vortex is driven by a small part separated from the output ow, directed so as to increase the jet deection. In several successful valve designs, e.g. (Tesar 1975; Perera and Syred 1983; Ringleb et al. 2006; Tesar 1961), the formation of such a vortex and stabilisation of its location are provided by a special bi-cuspid shape of the splitter between the two outlets from the valve, Fig. 1. One of the cusps, on the ON side (the side to which the jet is deected), peels off an outer layer from the jet. The curved splitter nose wall between the cusps, which this layer has to follow, then diverts this separated layer towards the other, back-turning cusp. This directs the layer back, towards the exit of the main nozzle, into the location in which the main jet is very sensitive to an even small side force. This sensitivity is, of course, what is used in switching the ow

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by the pulses applied into the control nozzlesin Tesar (2008), this sensitive location is described as receptivity zone. As shown in Fig. 1, the returning part of the peeledoff loop acts on the main jet as if there was a nonzero outow from the OFF side control nozzle; this sufces to keep the ow deected even if the Coanda-effect deection becomes weak. The actual vortex owelds are threedimensional and are quite complex, Fig. 2. Of course, even the vortical motions nally become strongly damped by viscous action as Re is decreased (Fig. 3). Apart from the internal feedback loop action, another standing vortex also acts as a blocking obstacle at the inlet

into the OFF collector (cf. Fig. 1). Of course, this blockage is only partial. It does not prevent some small percentage of the uid ow spilling over into the OFF output terminal. As the Reynolds number is decreased, also this vortex becomes less effective and the spilledover ow increases. In the low Re regimes typical for the pressure-driven microuidics (Beale and Lawler 1974)despite the loss of efciencythe valve may retain its capability to control the ow and to generate the oscillation in the oscillator application. The weak and small trapped vortices then allow a large ow spilled over into the OFF exit. This large ow has to be taken into consideration in the design of the uidic circuits with the valve. In spite of the importance, there has been virtually no available information about the magnitude of this unwelcome spillover ow at low Re. One aspect of the present investigation has concentrated on this factor. Another aspect investigated was the magnitude of the pressure difference generated in the control nozzles this difference is the driving impetus for alternating ow in the feedback loop in its simple conguration (Tesar et al. 2006; Tesar 2007).

3 Experiment 3.1 Model The geometry of the valve chosen for the investigations (Fig. 4) was typical for recent uses in a number of applications. Originally, this was the case [A] as described in Tesar (1975). Later, it was successfully tested by Perera and Syred (1983) for use in hot gas ow control. Other more recent uses are described in Tesar (1975, 2009b, e), Tesar et al. (2006, 2007), Zimmerman et al. (2009). Although the size, locations of the terminals, and general layout are very close to the model presented in Tesar

Fig. 2 Perspective view of computed pathlines released from the points on line spanning the interaction cavity in the midplane. At high Re = 11,714, this illustration documents complicated spatially entangled character of the trapped standing vortices. One pathline is seen to move back past the OFF side attachment wall to the receptivity zone

Fig. 3 An example of computed pathlines at Re = 800. This is the very extreme where the valvedesigned for high Re operationis still capable of performing some useful ow diverting task. The standing vortices, damped by the nearly dominant viscous effects, are rudimentary before disappearing completely

Fig. 4 Geometry of the model. Cavities were laser-cut in the 7.68mm thick PMMA plate (covered on top and bottom by at cover plates). Dimensions shown are those measured on the model (slightly different from the original design due to the manufacturers tolerances)

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(2009a), the internal cavities for uid ow, rather than being made in a stack of nominally identical thin plates, were laser-cut in a single plate 7.68 mm thick. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the cutting of the rather smallsized shapes (note, e.g., the 0.64 mm width of the control nozzles) in the relatively thick plate resulted in deviations from the ideal shape. The geometry of the tested model presented in Fig. 1 was obtained by detail measurements of the actual valve. Full description of the properties of a device with ve terminals (which, in general, means four independently variable ow rates and also four measured pressure differences between the terminals) might result in a very large number of combinations of investigated parameters. Since the aim of this investigation is not a complete characterisation of the device but mere elucidation of the inuence of low Reynolds numbers, it was decided not to complicate the tests and perform them at the simplest conditions. Both control ow rates were zerothe control terminals were blockedand the values of the pressure in both outputs were kept equal. As a result, the state was fully determined by one independent variable: the supply ow rate. 3.2 Laboratory setup The ow was generated by a centrifugal water pump, bringing water into the valve from a reservoir. The ow rate was measured by a rotameter upstream from the valve supply terminal. The ow rate was adjusted by a manually operated turn-down valve at the owmeter. The control terminals of the valve were actually connected by a feedback loop tube, completely lled with water, but the loop was kept fully blocked during the current investigations. The outlets from the uidic valve were fed back in to the reservoir by tubes, the ends of which were immersed below the surface of the water there, ensuring the boundary conditions of equal pressure in the two outlets. This closedloop water recirculation setup allowed keeping in the water a nite amount of seeding particles for ow visualisation. The system was thoroughly checked for complete removal of air bubbles before taking the measurements. 3.3 Flow visualisation and PIV measurements The velocity eld inside the uidic valve was visualised and also measured using PIV (particle image velocimetry (Adrian 2005); Regunath et al. (2008)). The ow of the transparent uid (water) was made visible by laser light scatter from added tracer particles. In this study, we used 40 lm polystyrene particles obtained from Duke Scientic Corporation. The particle concentration was 0.01% (v/v). The area under investigation was the midplane inside the interaction cavity of the valvei.e. the plane at 3.84 mm

(i.e. one half of the thickness of the plate containing the cavities) above the bottom of the domain. It was illuminated by a Nd:YAg laser (wavelength 532 nm, twin pulses 100 mJ of 6 ns duration, supplied by Oxford Lasers). The optics attached to the laser produced a thin light sheet, which was aligned with the midplane of the valve cavity. A CCD camera (PCO Sensicam) with appropriate lenses was mounted above the valve to take images of the scattered light. The laser and the camera were triggered appropriately using a synchroniser. 3.4 Floweld investigation and analysis Velocity maps were obtained for Reynolds numbers of 1,300, 1,700, and 2,200, which corresponds to ow rates of 0.6 0.1, 0.8 0.1, and 1.0 0.1 l/min, respectively. The three values were lower than those at which operation of the bistable diverting uidic valves were reported in literature. Nevertheless, in all three, the behaviour of the uid ow in the valve retained its standard features. The viscous damping did not cause a collapse of the standing vortices. Because of the time-consuming character of the PIV experiments (dictated by the relatively slow data transfer from the camera), the main purpose of these experiments was verication of the numerical oweld computations. After the verication established the condence in the computations, these then could be run reliably at other ow rate conditions, with the conditions adjusted easier and the solution requiring less effort than the experiments. In the experiments, the ow rate of water through the uidic valve was adjusted to the required value and left for several minutes to achieve steady state. Approximately 100 image pairs were taken within a short-time period (30 s) with appropriate time separation, to make possible averaging. Time separation between the two consecutive pulses was set in each case to result in 8 pixels maximum displacement of particle images. This value was selected to be of the interrogation window size. This ensured sufcient amount of particle images was available for processing the image pairs. Inappropriate images were discarded by visual inspection before image analysis. Velocity maps were obtained by cross correlation analysis carried out using commercial software package VidPIV 4.6TM. Ensemble correlation was applied to the image sets to determine time average velocity maps reducing the signal to noise ratio. Velocity data obtained were further processed using Matlab R2008aTM. Spatial resolution of 646 lm 9 646 lm was obtained by selecting 32 pixels 9 32 pixels interrogation regions. 3.5 Outlet ow measurements A separate experiment was set up to measure the outlet ow distributions into the two exits from the uidic valve.

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The inlet and the outlet boundary conditions were set identically as in the previous ow visualisation experiment described in 3.1. Instead of recirculating the water through the device, however, the inlet of the uidic valve was now connected to a tap via the owmeter, while the outlets were fed into two separate tanks. The tanks were provided with overows, set at the same heights in both tanks, maintaining the constant pressure difference across the valve, the same as in the previous experiment. These water from the overowsseparately for each outletwas collected in beakers for a known time. The ow rate in each valve output could therefore be determined by weighing the beakers with collected water. Water temperature was also recorded. Outlet ow rates and ow fractions were evaluated for the valve supply ow rates ranging from 0.3 l/min to 5 l/min.

4 Numerical oweld solutions The computations were used to extend the range of the investigated conditions beyond that in which it was practical to collect experimental data. Computations were carried out using the commercial packages Gambit for meshing and FLUENT 6.3. The discretisation grid for the nite-difference approach used hexahedral nite-volume cells. Number of the cells was gradually increased in the course of the computations, from the typical initial value 30 9 103 to values between 150 9 103 and 200 9 103 (maximum was 202,604 cells, with 63,607 quadrilateral wall faces). The renement was made during the computation run in those regions where there were high values of gradients of absolute velocity. At the same time, the coarsening of the mesh was made in locations where the gradients were low. Solutions used the two-equation (k-epsilon) model of turbulence with the low turbulence Reynolds number situations handled by RNG approach. All constants in the model were as provided by the software supplier. Pressure velocity coupling followed the standard SIMPLE approach, with the standard rst-order upwind schemes. Apart from the constant-depth cavities as shown in Fig. 4, the computation domain also involved cylindrical channels (of circular cross sections) representing the actual terminals of the laboratory model, which were holes in the support block drilled at right angles to the plane of the cavities. Boundary conditions were dened in the end planes of these three vertical inlet and outlet channels. There were no control channels since, as stated above, control ow was zero in both control inlets, and this could be representedby solid-wall conditionsin the control nozzle inlets. In the single supply terminal, the boundary condition was velocity, constant across the whole channel

end plane. In the two output terminals, the boundary condition was constant pressure equal in both end planes. The value of the inlet velocity was variedthere were altogether 21 different computation runs, each with different inlet conditionto cover the whole Reynolds numbers range of interest. Working uid assumed in the computations was constant-density water of specic volume v = 1.0018 9 10-3 m3/kg and viscosity (kinematic) 1.00481 9 10-6 m2/s. The solver was pressure-based, with absolute velocity formulation and standard wall functions treatment. Model under-relaxation factors were 0.2 for pressure, 0.7 for momentum, 0.8 for uctuation energy, and 0.5 for turbulence dissipation rate. In some individual cases, where the plotted residua exhibited unwelcome variations, some of the under-relaxation factors were decreased. The solutions were considered to be fully converged when the continuity residua decreased to 10-6, while those for all other variables (including the parameters of turbulence) were as low as 10-5.

5 Results 5.1 The trapped feedback vortex The key factor for applicability of the valve at low Rey nolds numbers (Tesar 2001; Tesar et al. 2005) is the existence and magnitude of the ow diverting effect, i.e. unequal distribution of ows into the two outlet terminals despite the symmetry of the valve geometry. In mechanical valves, uid is safely prevented from getting into the OFF exit by a mechanical obstacle placed there. In the nomoving-part uidic valve, the same effectdirecting the uid into the ON collectoris achieved by the hydrodynamic effects, the Coanda attachment, and the internal feedback loop. The internal feedback enhancing the Coanda effect has a character of a standing vortex inside the interaction cavity, its formation facilitated by the bi-cuspid splitter geometry. The vortex is clearly recognisable in the primary PIV resultsthe velocity vector eld presented in Fig. 5 for the very low Reynolds number evaluated from the main nozzle width and the mean velocity in the main nozzle exit. The position of the feedback vortex corein Fig. 5 indicated by the drawn circleis recognisable as the locations where the length of the vectors decreases to zero. The software package VidPIV 4.6T used to process the PIV data offered the alternative of evaluating the projections of the pathlines (trajectories of imagined particles following the uid ow) into the laser-illuminated midplane. For the data from Fig. 5, these pathline projections are presented in Fig. 6.

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Fig. 5 PIV measurements at Reynolds number low enough for the turbulence being not fully developedand yet there are clearly distinguishable both feedback loop vortex as well as the vortex blocking the entrance into the OFF output

Fig. 6 Projections of the pathlines evaluated from the PIV data presented in previous Fig. 5, i.e. at Re = 1,300. Despite the low Reynolds number, the decisive vortices are present

Apart from the stabilisation vortex, another location with zero vector length is seen at the entrance into the OFF collector. This captive vortex (Ringleb 1961) may be interpreted as blocking the entrance, standing in the way to the spillover ow. It is apparent that the blockage is not perfect. Some spillover ow manages to get past the vortex. Comparison of the results obtained at different Re values shows this lost ow magnitude increases as the Reynolds number is decreased. At lower Re values, because of the decreasing intensity of dynamic effects, the spillover also becomes immune to the directing effect of the back-turning cusp as presented in Fig. 1.

Particularly instructive method of presenting the inuence of the Reynolds numbers was tracking the positions of the vortex core in the individual ow map images. The distance of the core from the nearest wall is indicative of the strength (extent) of the vortex. It may be tempting to evaluate the extent (size) of the vortex by delineating its boundaries, but this leads to questionable dilemmas mainly because the vortical motion in the interaction cavity of the valve is highly three-dimensional, in spite of the impression that may be gained from the essentially twodimensional geometry of the valve cavities and the diagrams like Fig. 6. The three-dimensionality was demonstrated already in Fig. 2 above. This presented a perspective view of six pathlinesthe lines evaluated as the trajectories of imaginary particles released from six equidistant points located on the release line positioned in the midplane at 4 mm downstream distance from the nozzle exit, i.e. at a location near to the vortex core. The three pathlines in the ON side run smoothly into the ON side collector. The effect of the spillover is demonstrated in Fig. 2 by two of the pathlines getting into the OFF side collector, though perhaps not so smoothly. All these ve pathlines practically (with some small deviations on the OFF side) remain in the midplane (which is coloured grey in Fig. 2). This is not the case of the last, sixth line, released from a point inside the vortex. Its spiralling path forms loops above and below the midplane and even on one occasion leads quite far upstream along the wall up to the exit of the control nozzle. The actual shape details of such paths passing through the vortex are extremely sensitive to smallest inuences as to the release point location. All of them nally leave the vortexmaking delineation of vortex boundaries rather futile as there is no closed-loop line surrounding the core. The locations of the vortex cores evaluated in both the experiment as well as numerical oweld solutions were found to migrate along the trajectory shown in Fig. 8. In some computations with the geometry perfectly symmetrical, the vortex cores tended rather soon, at about Re *2,000 and less, to get very near to the OFF attachment wall, near the end of the trajectory in Fig. 2. As a result, there was a visible tendency (discernible in Fig. 7) towards nearly symmetrical character (very small ow diverting effect) of the ow division into the two outlets. Indeed, this was found at Reynolds number values where the experiments exhibited still a reasonable jet deection. Investigations into the origin of this phenomenon suggest the difference in behaviour is very much dependent on an even slight asymmetry of the laboratory model, caused by manufacturers tolerances. This aspect of the behaviour at very small Re has to be taken into account in using the valve in these conditions.

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Fig. 7 As the Reynolds number decreases towards the lower end of the investigated range, the standing vortex loses its importance. The zero length of the motion vectors, both in the experiment as well as the computation results (an example of which is presented here) makes possible locating the core of this vortex

Fig. 9 Gradually increasing magnitude of the spillover into the OFF output terminal as the Reynolds number Re is decreased. Computed as well as experimentally evaluated relative output ow rates into the ON exit, Eq. 1 (top data points) and the generally unwelcome ow into the OFF exit (bottom row of points)

2004, 2006). Especially in the oscillator applications need not the relative output ow lON, dened lON _ MON SIDE _ MSUPPLY 1

Fig. 8 With decreasing Reynolds number, the core of the feedback vortex moves towards the OFF attachment wall as the vortex gradually decreases in intensity

5.2 Flow spilled over into the OFF exit The problem of importance for use of the valve at low Reynolds numbers in microuidics, e.g. (Tesar 2001; Tesar et al. 2007), is the magnitude of the ow spilling over into the undesirable, OFF output terminal. The relative magnitude of this ow unfortunately increases as the Reynolds number Re becomes smaller. Luckily, in most valve applications, this is not critical. It is not necessary to have all the ow directed by the Coanda effect into the ON outputespecially since the ow rates in the loads connected to the valve may be adjusted by proper choice and adjustments of the valve and load dissipances (Tesar 2001,

differ from the subdynamic (Tesar et al. 2005) limit lON = 0.50 by more than several percents. Nevertheless, for the ow control task, the decreasing diverting effect makes the operation of the valve more difcult to accept and nally, near the limit, out of questionthe ow becomes distributed equally into the two outlets. The approach to this limiting condition was studied both by numerical computations as well as experimentally, again for the above-mentioned condition of equal loading of the outputs. Results of both approaches are presented together in the diagram Fig. 9 and show a good mutual agreement. Both show the properties of the particular valve design acceptable as long as the Reynolds number (evaluated from the nozzle exit width and average velocity) remains above *Re = 800, cf. Fig. 3. As in the study of the vortex core migrations discussed above, also here, the computational results exhibited an unexpected tendency towards symmetrical distribution of the ow already at *Re = 1,500, and then a return to the desirable behaviour at about Re *1,000, then with the nal total loss of efciency at *750. 5.3 Pressure difference for driving the oscillation The most popular current uses of the discussed diverter valve are in uidic oscillators. Thanks to the uidic amplication property of the valves (weak control ow deects

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6 Conclusions A model of bistable diverter Coanda-effect valve, of the type originally designed for application in turbulent jet high Re regime, as successfully used by the authors in their earlier high Reynolds number applications, was investigated by a combination of experimental methods (ow visualisation, PIV measurements, direct ow rate measurements) supported by numerical oweld computations. The interest was focused on the valve capability to operate at low Reynolds numbers, of the magnitudes making the valve useful for pressure-driven microuidicsespecially as a no-moving-part oscillator. The model was made by laser cutting in PMMA and operated with water. The most apparent feature of the oweld, a result of the bi-cuspid splitter design, was the large (relative to the valve size) captive vortex occupying the interaction cavity. This supports the idea of generating the positive (stabilising) internal feedback on which this design (from 1975) was based at a time when direct evaluation of the vortex presence was not possible. Also clearly recognisable was another, smaller standing vortex at the inlet into the OFF collector. The study evaluated the trajectory of the large eddy towards the nearest wall and its gradual loss of inuence with decreasing Reynolds number. In this design, the limit above which there is at least some hope of the valve being useful was found at a quite low Reynolds number *Re = 800, which suggests applicability for some uses even in pressure-driven microuidics.
Acknowledgments Author V.T. gratefully acknowledges nancial support by the grant IAA200760705 and by the research plan AV0Z20760514 provided by Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Another partial support was obtained from the grant Nr. 101/07/1499 by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic. Author H.C.H.B. would like to thank Yorkshire Water and the EPSRC Bridging the Gaps between Mathematics, ICT and Engineering Research at Shefeld (Grant No EP/E01867X/1) for nancial support. The University of Shefeld also acknowledges a helpful development partnership with Oxford Lasers.

Fig. 10 In the important applications of the valve as an oscillator with the single feedback loop channel connecting the two input terminals, the feedback ow is driven by the pressure difference DPX. Its magnitude in the zero control ow states is here presented in terms of the pressure coefcient cP. This is nearly constant 10 % of the dynamic pressure in the main nozzle

the powerful main ow), the oscillator is set up by addition of a destabilising (negative) feedback. Because of the simplicity, interest often focuses on the Spyropoulos (1964) version with single feedback loop connecting the two con trol terminals, as described in Tesar (2006, 2009a), Tesar et al. (2006), Zimmerman et al. (2009). The pressure difference available for driving the uid ow in such feedback loop is smaller than the more obvious Warrens oscillator version (Tesar 2007) with two loops, each connecting the output and the input at the same side of the valve. Computed owelds were used to evaluate the pressure difference values DPX between the two control terminals X1, X2, at zero control owinset in Fig. 10. These two terminals are to be connected in an oscillator by the Spyropoulos feedback loop. The results in terms of the pressure coefcient CP vDPX  w2 2 e 2

References
Adrian RJ (2005) Twenty years of particle image velocimetry. Exp Fluids 39:159 Athavale MM et al (1998) Modeling 3-D uid ow for a MEMS laminar proportional amplier. In: Proceedings of MSM 98, international conferences on modeling and simulation of microsystems, Santa Clara, April 1998, p 522 Beale RB, Lawler MT (1974) Development of a wall attachment uidic oscillator applied to volume ow metering. In: Flow: its measurement and control in science and industry, vol 1. Instrument Society of America, Pittsburgh, p 989 Coanda H (1936) Device for deecting a stream of elastic uid projected into an elastic uid. US Patent 2,052,869, September 1936

where v [m3/s] is the specic volume of the uid and we [m/s] is the main nozzle exit mean velocityare presented in Fig. 10 as a function of the decreasing Reynolds number. The values show the pressure difference to be a not very high (mere *10 %) and nearly constant percentage of the characteristic dynamic pressure w2/2v in the main e nozzle exit. Signicantly, the percentage is retained down to the lowest Reynolds numbers at which the valve is capable to operate. This is a positive nding for the possible uses in microuidics.

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