Design of electrothermal actuator for microfluidic valve applications

Design of Electrothermal Actuator for Microfluidic Valve Applications

This project focuses on the design and fabrication of an electrothermal actuator for closing microchannels in microfluidic devices. The actuator is intended to provide an alternative to pneumatic microvalves, which typically require external pressure sources, control equipment, and costly extensive off-chip tubing. Joule heating produces thermal expansion of confined PDMS, converting it into mechanical displacement without requiring an external heating or cooling system. The device design also avoids costly cleanroom fabrication processes. The design targets an actuation stroke of approximately 50–100 µm. COMSOL Multiphysics simulations of heat transfer and thermal expansion are being used to optimize the actuator geometry and establish design parameters.