A Micro Motor Using Electroconjugate Fluids (ECFs)

Some dielectric fluids such as dibutyl decanedioate generate jet flow between a pair of electrodes. One of authors discovered electroconjugate fluid (ECF hereafter), which is considered to be a kind of functional fluid. In this study, a micro motor that utilizes ECF is proposed. In the proposed motor, are pairs of electrodes located inside a cylindrical tube (stator) filled with ECF. In the stator, rotational flow is induced by ECF jets. By extracting the rotational flow power with a rotor, micro motors are easily realized. In this paper, the fabrication of micro ECF motors having an I.D. of φ3mm, φ4mm or φ8mm is described. Basic characteristics such as rotational velocity, load characteristics, output power and efficiency are experimentally examined. Also, mathematical models of the ECF motors are proposed and verified with experimental data. Finally, miniaturization characteristics are examined using the fabricated ECF motors.