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Model ID: 482

Deformation of a Thermomechanical Microvalve

Active microvalves are common components in microfluidic systems. In a thermomechanically actuated microvalve, an electric current generates movement by resistively heating the actuator structure, thereby causing mechanical stress and deformation.

This example shows how you can couple the microvalve's resistivity to a temperature field, to model the deformation and valve movement. Due to the highly nonlinear nature of the phenomenon, the parametric solver is used to ‘step’ your way to the final solution. The microvalve is modeled in 2D and 3D.

Deformed shape and temperature profile

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