Simulation of Droplet Formation, Ejection, Spread, and Preliminary Designof Nozzle for Direct Ceramic Inkjet Printing

Recent advances in drop-on-demand (DOD)-type inkjet printing techniques have increasedresearch activities in the area of direct ceramic inkjet printing. In an attempt to develop a ceramicinkjet printer for the manufacture of ceramic components with their sizes in micro scale, theformation of ceramic ink droplet (ethyl alcohol loaded with different volume fractions of aluminaparticles) and its spread from a reservoir using piezoelectric actuation are simulated. The propertiesof the ceramic ink are taken from the data reported in literature. The simulations were performedwith computational fluid dynamics software (CFD-ACE+), CFDRC. This study gives details ofthe interaction among different physical phenomena that contribute to the droplet formation andejection process. The results from this study are being used for a preliminary design of nozzleand for the preparation of ceramic inks to achieve the desired droplet characteristics.