Sustainable bio-inspired water pump using a thermo-pneumatic phenomenon with a blinking light

Abstract

In the natural world, the irradiance intensity of sunlight on the ground changes periodically due to diurnal motion. Here, inspired by natural trees, we propose a water pump using a thermo-pneumatic phenomenon with a blinking light. Specifically, we demonstrate that by the periodic irradiation of 110 W/m2 for the intrinsic irradiation area of ∼15 cm2, a Y-shaped bio-inspired pump having three chambers with two check valves can suck up water from a water source and expel it from the outlet at a 30 cm height with an average volume flow rate of ∼2.1 cm3/h (∼0.7 cm3/cycle). Surprisingly, the pumping ability of our pump is ∼20.4 times higher than that of the recent high-performance artificial tree in a simple comparison. Our findings should contribute to the sustainable transport of water and understanding of the transportation mechanism of natural trees in the future.