Numerical simulation on deposition and solidification processes of a molten metal droplet generated by drop-on-demand jetting

Droplet deposition and solidification is vital to dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties of components prepared by uniform droplet spray (UDS) forming. In this paper, a volume-of-fluid (VOF) based model was developed to study the deposition and solidification processes of a 1 mm Al-4.5%Cu droplet generated by drop-on-demand jetting. The effects of droplet falling velocity (0.6-0.8 m/s), initial temperature (933-973 K), and substrate temperature (300-473 K) were investigated. The results show that the final morphology of the deposited droplet is largely dependent on falling velocity and substrate temperature. The solidified droplet obtained from an UDS experiment validates the numerical simulation.