• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.405-414
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• 2015

Fluid transport is a key issue in the development of microfluidic systems. Recently, Myong (2014) has proposed a new concept for droplet transport without external power sources and numerically validated the results for a hypothetical 2D, initially having a hemicylindrical droplet. In this paper, the movement of an actual water droplet, initially having a 3D hemispherical shape, on horizontal hydrophilic/hydrophobic surfaces is simulated using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package, Fluent, with VOF (volume of fluid) method. The results are compared with the 2D analysis of Myong (2014), and the transport mechanism for the actual water droplet is examined based on the numerical results of the time evolution of the droplet shape, as well as the total kinetic, gravitational, surface free and pressure energies inside the droplet.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.111-118
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• 2017

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing with the aid of strong electric fields can generate and pattern droplets that are smaller than droplets by other printing technologies. Conventional EHD printing has created two-dimensional (2D) patterns by moving its nozzle or a substrate in X and Y directions. In this study, we aimed to develop an EHD system that can create 2D patterns using a multielectrode array (MEA) without moving a nozzle or substrate. In particular, printing ink mixtures of biodegradable polymers and model dyes was patterned on a thin film made of another biodegradable polymer. Without movement of a nozzle and substrate, stable 2D patterning of minimum $6{\mu}m$ size over a range of about 1 mm away from the nozzle position was achieved by MEA control only. We also demonstrated the possibility of denser 2D pattering of the ink mixtures by moving a target substrate relative to MEA position.