Impact and solidification of indium droplets on a cold substrate

The present article reports on a numerical study of heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics during the impact and solidification of liquid droplets on a cold substrate. The impact dynamics and the associated thermal phenomena have been modelled by adopting a fixed grid (Eulerian) approach with a single set of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. The VOF advection method with TVD front capturing approach has been utilized to track the time dependent droplets location and the interface between the solid, liquid and gas phases within the domain. Numerical experiments have been carried out for both simultaneous and sequential impact of indium liquid droplets on a cold substrate. Findings of the present study are deemed useful for better understanding and control of related surface coating and thin film manufacturing processes. The fluid behaviour and morphology of the resulting thin film have been found to be dependent upon the droplet impact velocity and frequency, and the fluid particles and substrate characteristics.