New Jersey Institute of Technology
Department of Mathematical Sciences

Capstone Laboratory

Simulations and Experiments with Evaporative Drops


Instructor: Lou Kondic



This project presents theoretical, computational, and experimental aspects of mass-loss of fluid drops due to evaporation. The theoretical component consists of using basic principles such as conservation of mass, momentum, and energy together with an evaporation model to derive an evolution equation for a fluid drop. This equation is solved and analyzed for comparison with the experimental results for fluids such as water, 70% and 100% isopropyl alcohol. Experiments were performed using a professional grade goniometer which allowed us to precisely measure contact angle and volume as a function of time. The comparison between computational results and experimental results is focused on the change in volume, mass, and contact angle. In addition, we show curious instabilities which developed for 100% isopropyl alcohol drops.

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