Dielectrowetting actuation of droplet: theory and experimental validation

In this work, a theoretical model based on energy conversation is constructed to characterize the contracting behavior of the non-conductive droplet actuated by the dielectric effect in an immiscible dielectric liquid. To verify the theory, COMSOL is employed to simulate the evolution of the droplet based on dielectrowetting, and a measurement platform is established to monitor the change process of the droplet profile. The contact angle and the height of the droplet increase linearly up to 48° and 2.03mm respectively when U ranges from 55V to 160V, while the droplet remained stationary when U < 55V. The relative experimental results coincide with the prediction of theory and the simulation analysis.