ICHMT DIGITAL LIBRARY ONLINE

ISSN 961-91393-0-5

Year 2001

Dimos Poulikakos
Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Institute of Energy Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), ETH Center, Zurich, Switzerland

ABSTRACT. The fundamental problem of a molten droplet impacting on a surface appears in a plethora of technological applications. It offers a multiplicity of scientific challenges that cover the entire area of transport phenomena. In fluid dynamics, it is a problem involving a severely deforming free liquid surface interacting with a gaseous environment on the one hand, and with a solid surface on the other. Complex wetting, breakup and re-coalescence phenomena may take place. The thermodynamic/heat transfer complexities can be exemplified by the solidification upon impact. In addition to the interplay of the three heat transfer modes and thermocapillarity, the solidification may occur under non-equilibrium conditions. Adsorption and surfactant presence (oxides, for example,) can give rise to a dynamic behavior of the surface tension during the droplet deformation. The purpose of this lecture is to present key numerical results of the above discussed droplet/surface impact problem focusing on the activities of the research group of the author on the deposition of molten metal microdroplets impacting with a relatively low speed (a few meters per second) without breakup and splashing. Due to space limitations only the case of axisymmetric impact will be discussed. This class of droplet deposition problems is of direct relevance to a host of emerging technologies exemplified by microelectronics manufacturing, rapid prototyping and drop by drop object and micro structure manufacturing.

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