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Piezoelectric pumps are applied in many fields, such as chemical analysis system and fluid pumping systems. Piezoelectric pumps with high output pressure can meet the needs of more fields. This article introduces the design and fabrication of a high output pressure piezoelectric pump with straight arm wheeled check valve. In this paper, the influence of straight arm wheeled check valve on the output pressure of piezoelectric pump is deeply discussed from the aspect of energy loss. This study investigated the effect of valve arm number (N = 2, 3,4, and 5), the valve arm width (W = 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 mm), and the valve arm length (L = 1.92, 2.02, and 2.12 mm) on the output pressure of piezoelectric pump. The output pressure characteristic of straight arm wheeled check valve piezoelectric pump with different valve parameters is obtained by experiment. Experimental results show that when N = 4, W = 1.0 mm, L = 2.02 mm, the output pressure of the straight arm wheeled check valve piezoelectric pump has the best output pressure of 27.41 kPa at 220 V and 85 Hz. This study provides a reference for the further application of piezoelectric pumps in fluid pumping field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT) is a promising ultrasonic transducer in medical diagnosis and therapeutic applications that demand a high output pressure. The concept of a CMUT with an annular embossed pattern on a membrane working in collapse mode is proposed to further improve the output pressure. To evaluate the performance of an embossed CMUT cell, both the embossed and uniform membrane CMUT cells were fabricated in the same die with a customized six-mask sacrificial release process. An annular nickel pattern with the dimension of 3 μ m × 2 μ m (width × height) was formed on a full top electrode CMUT to realize an embossed CMUT cell. Experimental characterization was carried out with optical, electrical, and acoustic instruments on the embossed and uniform CMUT cells. The embossed CMUT cell achieved 27.1% improvement of output pressure in comparison to the uniform CMUT cell biased at 170 V voltage. The fractional bandwidths of the embossed and uniform CMUT cells were 52.5% and 41.8%, respectively. It substantiated that the embossed pattern should be placed at the vibrating center of the membrane for achieving a higher output pressure. The experimental characterization indicated that the embossed CMUT cell has better operational performance than the uniform CMUT cell in collapse region.

A new piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) with an isolation trench between cells was proposed to improve the output pressure. A 2-D finite-element model was utilized to evaluate and compare the performance of the conventional design with fully clamped boundary and the trench design. It shows that the trench design can improve the membrane displacement or output pressure of pMUTs without a significant change in the resonant frequency; $8\times 8$ aluminum nitride (AlN)-based pMUTs arrays with fully clamped boundary design and the isolation trench were fabricated and characterized. An impulse response of the pMUTs array was first employed to determine the resonant frequency. A 200-cycle burst at the resonant frequency was then delivered to pMUTs and the acoustic output pressure was measured by a hydrophone. The trench design could increase the output pressure by $\sim 76$ % with a shift of its center frequency by only 0.03 MHz. The nonlinear relationship between pressure output and applied high voltage still exists in the trench design. The presence of residual stress in the membrane, and substrate during fabrication was found to have little impact on the displacement and resonant frequency of pMUT. In summary, the presence of isolation trench can reduce the deflection-induced tensile stress on the edge of the membrane and subsequently improve the performance of pMUTs. [2016-0001] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The initiation capability of a microdetonator 0.9 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height is studied. The critical height of the lead azide explosive is 1.8 mm. The optimal ratio of the heights of the primary and secondary explosives in a microdetonator is determined to be 0.7-2.3. At an identical ratio of the primary and secondary explosive heights, the output pressure changes from the highest to the lowest value in the sequence from CL-20 to HMX and then to RDX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT) is a promising ultrasonic transducer in medical diagnosis and therapeutic applications that demand a high output pressure. The concept of a CMUT with an annular embossed pattern on a membrane working in collapse mode is proposed to further improve the output pressure. To evaluate the performance of an embossed CMUT cell, both the embossed and uniform membrane CMUT cells were fabricated in the same die with a customized six-mask sacrificial release process. An annular nickel pattern with the dimension of 3 μ m × 2 μ m (width × height) was formed on a full top electrode CMUT to realize an embossed CMUT cell. Experimental characterization was carried out with optical, electrical, and acoustic instruments on the embossed and uniform CMUT cells. The embossed CMUT cell achieved 27.1% improvement of output pressure in comparison to the uniform CMUT cell biased at 170 V voltage. The fractional bandwidths of the embossed and uniform CMUT cells were 52.5% and 41.8%, respectively. It substantiated that the embossed pattern should be placed at the vibrating center of the membrane for achieving a higher output pressure. The experimental characterization indicated that the embossed CMUT cell has better operational performance than the uniform CMUT cell in collapse region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiotensin II (AngII), the principal effector of the Renin-Angiotensin-System (RAS), is a multipotent hormone whose biological actions include short-term modulation as well as long-term adjustments. In the eel heart, AngII elicits short-term inotropic and chronotropic effects. However, information regarding the influence of AngII on cardiac remodeling, expressed as morphological and hemodynamic changes, is lacking. To clarify the putative actions of AngII on eel cardiac remodeling, we used freshwater eels (Anguilla anguilla) intraperitoneally injected for 4 weeks with saline or AngII (0.4 or 1.2 nmol g BW(-1)) or AngII (1.2 nmol g BW(-1)) plus the AT₂ receptor antagonist CGP42112. Using an in vitro working heart preparation, the cardiac response (stroke volume changes) to preload and afterload increases has been evaluated. Hearts of all groups showed similar Frank-Starling responses. However, in response to afterload increases, stroke volume rapidly decreased in control hearts, while it was better maintained in AngII-treated counterparts. These effects were abolished by an antagonist of the AT₂ receptor, whose cardiac expression was revealed by western blotting analysis. We also found by immunolocalization and immunoblotting that AngII influences both expression and localization of molecules which regulate cell growth [such as c-kit, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp-90), endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase "(eNOS)-like" isoform] and apoptosis [i.e. apoptosis repressor with CARD domain (ARC)], thus playing a role in cardiac long-term adjustments. These results point to a role of AngII in eel heart remodeling, providing new insights regarding the modulation of cardiac plasticity in fish., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)