Switzerland-based engineers create micro pumps that can circulate fluid using electrohydrodynamics instead of mechanical pumps and be woven directly into fabric.
Circulating fluid through tubes woven into a garment was used successfully during the Apollo moon landings to regulate the astronauts’ body temperature.
A new development by researchers at Switzerland-based École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne has resulted in miniature tube pumps in the form of fibers that allow high-pressure fluidic circuits to be woven into textiles without an external pump. Pressure and flow are created by electrohydrodynamics, propelling ions in a special dielectric fluid. No external mechanical pump is needed, so the system could be used to create advanced devices for simulation, or potentially as an assistive exoskeleton.
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