Simulation and Experimental Research on Liquid Spreading in a Wire-Sawn Kerf

Abstract The significance of liquids in abrasive wire sawing has been demonstrated in several studies. However, the performance of its spreading behavior is limited by the current development trend, where the wafer has a larger area and the kerf is narrower. Moreover, there are very few studies on the liquid spreading behavior in wire-sawn kerfs. Therefore, a 3D CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model is presented in this paper and used to simulate the liquid spreading behavior in a kerf based on a VOF (volume of fluid) method with a CSF (continuum surface force) model, which is used to simulate multiphase flow, and an empirical correlation for characterizing the liquid dynamic contact angle using UDF (user defined functions). Subsequently, parametric simulations are performed on the kerf area, kerf width, liquid viscosity, liquid surface tension, and liquid velocity at the inlet area of the kerf, and verification experiments are conducted to determine the validity of the simulation model. From the simulation and experimental results, three typical liquid spreading regimes that exhibit different effects on wire sawing in the kerfs are found, and their limiting conditions are identified using non-dimensional analysis. Subsequently, a prediction model is proposed for the liquid spreading regime based on a set of Weber and Capillary numbers. For wire sawing, an increase in the wafer area does not change the liquid spreading regime in the kerf; however, a reduction in the kerf width significantly hinders the liquid spreading behavior. Thereby, the spreading regime can be effectively converted to facilitate wire sawing by adjusting the physical properties and supply conditions of the liquid.