Professor Kwan Hyoung Kang of the Department of Mechanical Engineering developed anelectrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumping method for dielectric (or non-polar) liquids utilized for micro fingers of microsurgical robots. He presented a new way which relies on the EHD flow generated by the filed dependent electrical conductivity.

The EHD pump is a device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy indirectly, and it is required for the cooling system of microelectronic devices for chemical and biological analysis and micropumping of organic solvents.

The results of this research are significant in that dielectric liquids also can be utilized for the new EHD pumping by utilizing EHD flow generated by the filed dependent electrical conductivity.  The paper, titled “Pumping of dielectric liquids using non-uniform-field Induced electrohydrodynamic,” was published in the online edition of Applied Physics Letter on Nov. 30, 2011.