A Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation of Pneumatic Atomization, Aerosol Transport, and Deposition in Aerosol Jet Printing Process

作者：Roozbeh Salary, Jack P. Lombardi, Darshana L. Weerawarne, Prahalada Rao, Mark D. Poliks · 发表于：Journal of Micro and Nano-Manufacturing · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1115/1.4049958 · 被引用次数：49 · 研究领域：Particle Dynamics in Fluid Flows、Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer、Aerosol Filtration and Electrostatic Precipitation

Abstract Aerosol jet printing (AJP) is a direct-write additive manufacturing technique, which has emerged as a high-resolution method for the fabrication of a broad spectrum of electronic devices. Despite the advantages and critical applications of AJP in the printed-electronics industry, AJP process is intrinsically unstable, complex, and prone to unexpected gradual drifts, which adversely affect the morphology and consequently the functional performance of a printed electronic device. Therefore, in situ process monitoring and control in AJP is an inevitable need. In this respect, in addition to experimental characterization of the AJP process, physical models would be required to explain the underlying aerodynamic phenomena in AJP. The goal of this research work is to establish a physics-based computational platform for prediction of aerosol flow regimes and ultimately, physics-driven control of the AJP process. In pursuit of this goal, the objective is to forward a three-dimensional (3D) compressible, turbulent, multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to investigate the aerodynamics behind: (i) aerosol generation, (ii) aerosol transport, and (iii) aerosol deposition on a moving free surface in the AJP process. The complex geometries of the deposition head as well as the pneumatic atomizer were modeled in the ansys-fluent environment, based on patented designs in addition to accurate measurements, obtained from 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography (μ-CT) imaging. ...