# A Direct Numerical Simulation Approach for Understanding Process Drift in Aerosol Jet Printing

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) · $650,000

## Abstract

Aerosol jet printing is a method that enables high resolution printed electronics. In the process, liquid inks containing electronic materials are transformed into a cloud of very small droplets, which are then carried by a stream of air to be deposited on a substrate. Aerosol jet printing could enable transformative new integrated circuits composed of heterogeneous technology, which includes next-generation circuits. Despite its advantages, aerosol jet printing has yet to have large-scale impact on high-volume fabrication due to issues with non-uniformities of printed manufacturing line characteristics. This award supports research that aims to investigate the causes of these non-uniformities via the use of highly detailed numerical simulations in combination with high-fidelity experiments. A clearer understanding of the causes of aerosol drift behavior would enable future technologies to design methods to overcome it. Since these simulation efforts are orders of magnitude more expensive than conventional computational methods, it is critical to employ the data gathered from these massive computations to significantly improve the accuracy of conventional methods. Results from the research will contribute to the ongoing development of a graduate course on printed thin-film electronics and will provide additional material to undergraduate fluid mechanics courses.

Aerosol jet printing offers an additive electronics manufacturing technique that can directly enable the deposit

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2423177
- **Awardee organization:** University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** LCLSJAGTNZQ7
- **PI:** Mario F Trujillo
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** SIMULATION MODELS, MATERIAL TRANSFORMATION PROC, MANUFACTURING
- **Estimated total:** $650,000
- **Funds obligated:** $650,000
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2423177

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2423177, A Direct Numerical Simulation Approach for Understanding Process Drift in Aerosol Jet Printing. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2423177. Licensed CC0.

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