Capillary-driven
ink infiltration through a porous powder bed in
three-dimensional (3D) binder jet printing (inkjet printing onto a
powder bed) controls the printing resolution and as-printed “green”
strength of the resulting object. However, a full understanding of
the factors controlling the kinetics of the infiltration remains incomplete.
Here, high-resolution
in situ
synchrotron radiography
provides time-resolved imaging of the penetration of an aqueous solution
of eythylene glycol through a porous alumina powder bed, used as a
model system. A static drop-on-demand inkjet printer was used to dispense
liquid droplets onto a powder surface. The subsequent migration of
the liquid front and its interactions with powder particles were tracked
using fast synchrotron X-radiography in the Diamond Synchrotron, with
phase-contrast imaging at a frame rate of 500 Hz. Image processing
and analysis reveal that both the time-dependent increment in the
wetting area and the propagation of the “interface leading
edge” exhibit heterogeneous behavior in both temporal and spatial
domains. However, mean infiltration kinetics are shown to be consistent
with existing infiltration models based on the Washburn equation modified
to account for the spreading of the liquid drop on the powder surface
and using a modified term for the bed porosity.
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