Denis, I have published quite a bit on the subject. See: http://www.aquarianmicro.com/papers.html Look in particular at journal papers J13, J14 and J15 under the link. Also look at proceedings papers P46 and P48. There are other papers relating to application of microvalves to flow and pressure control; and, to the reliability of microvalves and microflow systems based on microvalves. You can email me if you want a copy of the papers; or, go through the appropriate society links given, and purchase directly. If you would, please email me the sources you have been searching for papers on microvalve flow. Generally speaking, microvalve design has three components: the actuator, which links actuation energy input to mechanical change in a membrane or variable orifice; the mechanical behavior of the membrane or variable orifice; and, the flow which results from the geometry which results from the combination of the actuator and membrane/variable orifice mechanics, and which also results from the boundary conditions of pressure, temperature, and interaction between the fluid and valve materials. In a 'good' valve design, the ratio between ON flow resistance and OFF flow resistance is many orders of magnitude (for compressible gases). Some published models of compressible gas flow focus on flow regimes where the flow is always highly restricted, whether the valve is ON or OFF. In my opinion (based on my previous experience with the analogous electron 'valves' called MOSFETs), such models aren't very useful, because the valves they model have a very high pressure drop, and so have very limited application. Also in a 'good' valve design, the three design components can be (and in my opinion should be) completely separable. In the pneumatic and thermopneumatic designs I have done, and also in some more recent but unpublished piezoelectric designs, I use an orifice-type valve seat, with flow modulated by a membrane moving against the seat. The membrane mechanics are one part of the design. The compressible gas or incompressible liquid flow model (given in the above references) is a second component of the design. The actuation of the membrane is the third component of the design. Hope that helps. Best regards, Al --- Albert K. Henning, PhD Director of MEMS Technology NanoInk, Inc. 215 E. Hacienda Avenue Campbell, CA 95008 408-379-9069 ext 101 ahenning@nanoink.net -----Original Message----- From: Denis Petrov [mailto:dazeuhl@googlemail.com] Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 5:39 AM To: mems-talk@memsnet.org Subject: [mems-talk] A method to design and calculate the parameters of amechanical normally-closed microvalve with electrostatic actuation Hello, I am looking for a good literature (or any other) source on the method for the calculation of microvalve parameters (geometry, flow rates etc.). I have been searching for a long time, but what I see is mostly theoretical descriptions of main microfluidic interelations. I need a method, an approach. Does anybody know something on the topic? Or possibly has some expirience with such (or similar) a design task?