CFD analysis of Newtonian and non-Newtonian droplets impinging on heated hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces

Abstract

In the present study, the behaviors of Newtonian and shear-thinning non-Newtonian droplets impinging on heated hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces have been investigated numerically using Ansys-Fluent. In this context, the volume-of-fluid technique is applied to track the free-surface of the liquid, and variable time-step is also utilized to control the Courant number. Furthermore, we have considered the dependence of viscosity, density and surface tension on temperature during the simulation. The results are compared to available experimental data at the same conditions, such as boundary conditions. The results demonstrate that there is a good agreement between the obtained results and the experimental trends, concerning normalized diameter profiles at various Weber numbers. Therefore, the focus of the present study is an assessment of the effects of variations in Weber number, contact angle and surface temperature for Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids on dynamics behavior of droplet in collision with hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. The results represent that the behaviors of Newtonian and non-Newtonian droplets are totally different, indicating the droplet sensitivity to the working parameters.