Flow rate sensing is a critical issue for piezoelectric-based micropump systems. This paper describes experimental analysis of flow rate sensing in a peristaltic micropump system. Sensing can be integrated with such a pump using piezoelectric actuators based on the time-phase-shift (TPS) method. To do this, an evaluation-window is added on the falling edge of the driving pulse to help detect the flow velocity without affecting the flow rate. We fabricate a prototype piezoelectric peristaltic micropump with three chambers and three piezoelectric actuators. The middle actuator works not only as an actuator for driving fluid but also as a transducer for sensing flow rate. An evaluation-window is performed to ascertain the relationship between the flow rate and the phase shift of output-signal responses from the transducer. The experimental results show that the evaluation-window response of flow rates in a piezoelectric peristaltic micropump has rates of from 5.56. 33.36 mu l s(-1). The results are extended to propose a practical flow rate sensor, the design of which can be realized easily in the piezoelectric peristaltic micropump system for sensorless responses that can detect flow rate without any sensors or circuits. The proposed TPS method is real-time, integrated, fast, efficient, and suitable for flow rate detection in piezoelectric peristaltic micropumps.
