Numerical analysis of droplet deposition in inkjet printed electronics assembly

In this paper, a computational approach for the analysis of microscale droplet impact dynamics is presented. The approach is intended to support a condition based monitoring system to enhance quality and reliability of inkjet printed electronics components. The Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) approach of Lucy and Gingold and Monaghan has been used as the basis for the model, with the 5-SPH terms of Marrone et al used to improve handling of the dynamic impact events and the gradient correction terms of Belytschko used to improve the accuracy of interface dynamics. Model validation has been performed through comparison against a macroscale dam break problem and through a microscale analysis designed to determine accurate surface tension-pressure behaviour based on the Young-Laplace relation. The model is used to assess impact of a single drop on a uniform surface and the three dimensional formation of multi-drop layers.