Piezoelectric rotational mixer based on a first bending vibration mode

We propose a miniature piezoelectric mixer that can rotate a liquid inside a hole of several millimeters diameter. The mixer has dimensions 14 × 14 × 10 mm with a through-hole (7 mm), and piezoelectric elements bonded to its four identical sides. When the first bending vibration mode of the mixer is excited by ac voltages, rotational flow of liquid is generated by the rotation of an acoustic field (acoustic streaming) in the through-hole. This technology is useful in automating mixing processes such as the mixing by hand of a few drops of blood in medical testing. In this paper, we verify the driving principle experimentally and examine the characteristics of a prototype mixer, including the induced flow velocity, under changes of the amplitude and frequency of the applied voltages. A plastic test tube, used to prevent contamination, is inserted to the through-hole, and the liquid inside the tube is mixed by rotation of the acoustic field.