The retraction of jetted slender viscoelastic liquid filaments

TL;DR

This study investigates how dilute viscoelastic solutions can suppress satellite droplet formation in inkjet printing by analyzing the role of polymer elasticity and identifying concentration bounds for optimal jetting performance.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of viscoelasticity on filament retraction and satellite suppression, highlighting the importance of polymer concentration bounds.

Findings

Dilute viscoelastic solutions can suppress satellite droplets.

Optimal polymer concentrations exist for satellite suppression.

Enhanced retraction velocities are due to elastic tension from polymer stretching.

Abstract

Long and slender liquid filaments are produced during inkjet printing, which can subsequently either retract to form a single droplet, or break up to form a primary droplet and one or more satellite droplets. These satellite droplets are undesirable since they degrade the quality and reproducibility of the print. Existing strategies for the suppression of satellite droplet formation include, among others, adding viscoelasticity to the ink. In the present work, we aim to improve the understanding of the role of viscoelasticity in suppressing satellite droplets in inkjet printing. We demonstrate that very dilute viscoelastic aqueous solutions (concentrations $\sim$ 0.003\% wt. polyethylene oxide (PEO), corresponding to nozzle Deborah number $De_{n}$ $\sim$ 3) can suppress satellite droplet formation. Furthermore, we show that, for a given driving condition, upper and lower bounds of polymer concentration exist, within which satellite droplets are suppressed. Satellite droplets are formed at concentrations below the lower bound, while jetting ceases for concentrations above the upper bound (for fixed driving conditions). Moreover, we observe that, with concentrations in between the two bounds, the filaments retract at velocities larger than the corresponding Taylor-Culick velocity for the Newtonian case. We show that this enhanced retraction velocity can be attributed to the elastic tension due to polymer stretching, which builds up during the initial jetting phase. These results shed some light on the complex interplay between inertia, capillarity, and viscoelasticity for retracting liquid filaments, which is important for the stability and quality of inkjet printing of polymer solutions.