A finite element method for electrowetting on dielectric

Abstract

We consider the problem of electrowetting on dielectric. The system involves the dynamics of a conducting droplet, which is immersed in another dielectric fluid, on a dielectric substrate under an applied voltage. The fluid dynamics is modeled by the two-phase incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the standard interface conditions, the Navier slip condition on the substrate and a contact angle condition which relates the dynamic contact angle and the contact line velocity, as well as the kinematic condition for the evolution of the interface. The electric force acting on the fluid interface is modeled by the Maxwell's equations in the domain occupied by the dielectric fluid and the dielectric substrate. We develop a numerical method for the model based on its weak form. This method combines the finite element method for the Navier-Stokes equations on a fixed bulk mesh with a parametric finite element method for the dynamics of the fluid interface, and the boundary integral method for the electric force along the fluid interface. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the numerical method, the effect of various physical parameters on the interface profile and other interesting phenomena such as the transportation of droplet driven by applied non-uniform voltage.