Three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of unstable ejection phenomena of droplets for electrohydrodynamic jet

The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet is becoming increasingly popular within industrial printing areas based on phenomena induced by electrical potentials. Regardless of the physical observations of unstable ejection phenomena in regions possessing high electric potential, quantitative visualization is still necessary; no report exists exemplifying quantitative visualization. Thus, the size, shape and position of EHD droplets were reconstructed in this study using developed three-dimensional tomography methods. Two computer-synthesized phantoms for the liquid meniscus containing small satellite droplets were generated according to actual images captured by two high-speed cameras. These droplets were made in order to numerically reconstruct droplet behavior. Four three-dimensional tomography methods, such as the algebraic reconstruction technique (ART), the adaptive algebraic reconstruction technique (AART), the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT) and the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART), were developed to accurately mimic droplet movement using multiple image views. Four basis functions including the cubic B-spline, cosine, o-Moms and Keys basis functions were adopted in order to improve the performance of the tomographic reconstructions. After completing a comparison of the four tomography results, the MART method in association with the cubic cosine basis function was selected as the means to significantly improve reconstruction accuracy. Additionally, it was the applied method for the reconstruction of the droplet behavior from experimental projections by two cameras.