Influence of the Nozzle Shape on the Breakup Behavior of Continuous Ink Jets

Abstract

In this work, the influence of nozzle shape on microfluidic ink jet breakup is investigated. First, an industrial ink used in continuous inkjet (CIJ) printing devices is selected. Ink rheological properties are measured to ensure an apparent Newtonian behavior and a constant surface tension. Then, breakup lengths and shapes are observed on a wide range of disturbance amplitude for four different nozzles. Later on, ink breakup behaviors are compared to the linear theory. Finally, these results are discussed using numerical simulations to highlight the influence of the velocity profiles at the nozzle outlet. Using such computations, a simple approach is derived to accurately predict the breakup length for industrial CIJ nozzles.