Simulation of Coffee Stain Effects Using ANSYS Fluent

Abstract

The following project takes an investigative look in the commonly observed coffee stain effect in fluid dynamics that explains the arrangement and alignment of particles and droplets when subjected to an evaporative flux. The primary objective of the paper deals with the methodology and results obtained by the simulation of the effect in ANSYS fluent and the parameters used to produce the effect. The latter part of the project studies the relation between surface energies and contact angles for droplets and seeks to develop a relationship between both. The coffee stain effect has been further replicated using Surface Evolver, Energy 2D and the FEA Multiphysics Toolbox from MATLAB. Coffee stain simulations are a greater way of interpreting a widely known phenomenon that have captivated the interests of researchers and the following report intends to understand such dynamics and replicate them in software environments.