Abstract
This paper presents experimental measurements and observations of instantaneous flow structures inside an inkjet printhead, using a micron-resolution Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system to record visualized flows and calculate velocity fields. The PIV technique uses 700 nm diameter fluorescent flow-tracing particles, a pulsed Nd:YAG laser, an epi-fluorescent microscope and an interline-transfer CCD camera to record images of a flow at two successive instances in time. By measuring how far a set of particles move during a specified duration of time, an estimate of the local fluid velocity can be obtained.
An electronic timing strategy has been developed to synchronize the PIV lasers, the CCD camera and the drop ejection system. An overall flow pattern during a 500 μs ejection cycle has been observed by phase-averaging hundreds of instantaneous velocity fields, which were recorded at 2–5 μs intervals throughout the cycle. A velocity field with spatial resolution of approximately 10 μm was obtained near the inkjet nozzle. Meniscus and nodes inside the printhead were also observed and recorded.