Scalable generation of strictly monodisperse droplets by transverse electrohydrodynamic excitations

Abstract

We report a scalable approach to generate strictly monodisperse microdroplets by introducing transverse periodic perturbations on microliquid jets. The fringe field of a thin capacitor, driven by sinusoidal signals, induces periodic electrohydrodynamic (EHD) stress and "chops" the liquid jet at precise and adjustable intervals. When the driving signal is near the 50% of the Rayleigh frequency, liquid jets exhibit highly ordered breakup. We have shown that for the same jet diameter, the monodispersed droplet diameter can be changed by a factor of 1.75, corresponding to more than five times in change of droplet volume. Further, we demonstrate the scale-up of this approach by chopping multiple jets using a single set of EHD exciters. Copyright © American Association for Aerosol Research.