Flow simulation and visualization of a microdroplet generator

This paper investigates droplet characteristics and refill time of the microdroplet generators with different shape of actuator and actuation amplitude. The simulation results show that a ring-type actuator provides the best performance on the droplet trajectory and ink refill time. Droplets generated by the ring-type actuator have the shortest initial pillar length and the least velocity inconsistency. Hence, the occurrence of satellite droplet is diminished. Square- and circle-type actuators have a refill time of 67 and 61 μs, respectively, up to 37% larger than the value of 49 μs of the ring-type actuator. For the ring-type actuator, the droplet size, tip velocity, and refill time are in proportion to the actuation amplitude for a given nozzle diameter.