A Deformation of a Mercury Droplet under Acceleration in an Annular Groove

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) liquid sensors may be used under large acceleration conditions. It is important to understand the deformation of the liquid droplets under acceleration for the design and applications of MEMS liquid sensors, as this will affect the performance of the sensors. This paper presents an investigation into the deformation of a mercury droplet in a liquid MEMS sensor under accelerations and reports the relationship between the deformation and the accelerations. The Laminar level set method was used in the numerical process. The geometric model consisted of a mercury droplet of 2 mm in diameter and an annular groove of 2.5 mm in width and 2.5 mm in height. The direction of the acceleration causing the droplet to deform is perpendicular to the direction of gravity. Fabrication and acceleration experiments were conducted. The deformation of the liquid was recorded using a high-speed camera. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the characteristic height of the droplets decreases as the acceleration increases. At an acceleration of 10 m/s(2), the height of the droplet is reduced from 2 to 1.658 mm, and at 600 m/s(2) the height is further reduced to 0.246 mm. The study finds that the droplet can deform into a flat shape but does not break even at 600 m/s(2). Besides, the properties of the material in the domain surrounding the droplet and the contact angle also affect the deformation of the droplet. This work demonstrates the deformation of the liquid metal droplets under acceleration and provides the basis for the design of MEMS droplet acceleration sensors.