Mat-1.3656 Seminar on
numerical analysis and computational science
Monday Jan 20, 2012, room
U322 at 14.15, Eirola & Stenberg
Timo Eirola and Veikko Sariola, A"
Modeling capillary self-alignment in microassembly using the finite element method
When a droplet of liquid is placed between two wettable pads, one on a
fixed substrate and one on a freely moving part, the surface
tension of the droplet aligns the part to the substrate pad. This
is called capillary self-alignment and is used in the assembly of
microcomponents. Different liquids, including solders, water and
adhesives, can be used.
Modeling of the phenomenon comes down to finding the shape of the
liquid surface as a function of the part orientation and location. The
shape can be found by solving the Young-Laplace or minimal surface
equation. In this talk, we discuss initial ideas for solving the
problem using the variational formulation and the finite element
method. An approach of using freefem++ is demonstrated.
