A Finite Element Method for Electrowetting on Dielectric

TL;DR

This paper develops a finite element numerical method to simulate electrowetting on dielectric, capturing fluid dynamics, electric forces, and interface evolution, and demonstrates its accuracy through numerical examples.

Contribution

It introduces a combined finite element and boundary integral method for electrowetting modeling, integrating electric and fluid interface dynamics.

Findings

Method accurately simulates droplet behavior under electric fields.

Numerical results show the influence of physical parameters on interface shape.

Demonstrates droplet transportation driven by non-uniform electric potential.

Abstract

We consider the problem of electrowetting on dielectric (EWoD). The system involves the dynamics of a conducting droplet, which is immersed in another dielectric fluid, on a dielectric substrate under an applied voltage. The fluid dynamics is modeled by the two-phase incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the standard interface conditions, the Navier slip condition on the substrate, and a contact angle condition which relates the dynamic contact angle and the contact line velocity, as well as the kinematic condition for the evolution of the interface. The electric force acting on the fluid interface is modeled by Maxwell's equations in the domain occupied by the dielectric fluid and the dielectric substrate. We develop a numerical method for the model based on its weak form. This method combines the finite element method for the Navier-Stokes equations on a fixed bulk mesh with a parametric finite element method for the dynamics of the fluid interface, and the boundary integral method for the electric force along the fluid interface. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the numerical method, the effect of various physical parameters on the interface profile, and other interesting phenomena such as the transportation of droplet driven by the applied non-uniform electric potential difference.