Simulation of Shear-Thickening Liquid Transfer between U-Shaped Cell and Flat Plate

• Main Authors: Ling Dong, Jiefang Xing, Shuang Wu, Xiaomin Guan, Hongjuan Zhu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Processes
• Subjects: gravure printing; shear-thickening liquid; VOF method; cell optimization
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/5/838

Based on the actual measurement of the shear-thickening properties of water-based inks, in order to improve the ink transfer rate, the PLIC (Piecewise Linear Interface Construction) interface tracking method and the VOF (Volume of Fluid) method are used to simulate the transfer process of the shear-thickening liquid between the U-shaped cell and the upwardly moving plate. The effects of substrate surface wettability, cell contact angle, and cell depth on liquid transfer were studied. The results showed that all can increase the liquid transfer rate, and the change of the cell contact angle also led to the difference in the breaking time of the liquid filament. In addition, the shallow plate effect was discovered in the study of cell depth. The shallow plate effect is a phenomenon by which the amount of liquid transferred and the liquid transfer rate are greatly improved when the depth of the cell decreases to a certain limit value. In addition, for the U-shaped cell, the optimization method combining the shallow printing plate effect and fillet can greatly improve the liquid transfer rate and solve the undesirable problems such as plate blocking. After optimization, a liquid transfer rate of about 85% can be achieved.