Acoustic measurement of bubble size in an inkjet printhead.
The volume of a bubble in a piezoinkjet printhead is measured acoustically. The method is based on a numerical model of the investigated system. The piezo not only drives the system but it is also used as a sensor by measuring the current it generates. The numerical model is used to predict this current for a given bubble volume. The inverse problem is to infer the bubble volume from an experimentally obtained piezocurrent. By solving this inverse problem, the size and position of the bubble can thus be measured acoustically. The method is experimentally validated with an inkjet printhead that is augmented with a glass connection channel, through which the bubble was observed optically, while at the same time the piezocurrent was measured. The results from the acoustical measurement method correspond closely to the results from the optical measurement.
Jeurissen
Roger
R
Burgers Center of Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
van der Bos
Arjan
A
Reinten
Hans
H
van den Berg
Marc
M
Wijshoff
Herman
H
de Jong
Jos
J
Versluis
Michel
M
Lohse
Detlef
D
D000162:Acoustics; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D007281:Ink; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011327:Printing / Q000295:instrumentation*