A volume of fluid (VOF) method to model shape change during electrodeposition

Abstract

A novel volume of fluid (VOF) based approach is proposed to simulate the transient shape change of deposit front during electrodeposition considering secondary current distribution. Transport phenomena such as electrolyte potential, electric current density, and fluid flow of electrolyte are computed. The presented algorithm comprises computation of the exact VOF interface area as well as proposed modeling equations to accurately handle transport phenomena within the deposit. Based on the modeling results, it is essential to minimize the overshoot of electric current near the singularity between the cathode and insulator in the beginning stages of electrodeposition to achieve a relatively uniform thickness of the deposit layer in electroforming process. The results are validated against existing mathematical solutions. Keywords: Shape change, Numerical simulation, VOF interface area, Secondary current distribution, Electroforming