Date
September 15, 2025
Location
European Coating Symposium 2025
Duration
3 hours (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM)
What will you learn?
- Think before you compute! Physics-first approach to multiphase flow simulation
- Run Basilisk simulations Compile and execute your first high-fidelity simulations
- Interface tracking methods Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) approach for two-phase flows
- Coating applications Landau-Levich dip coating and droplet dynamics
- Real-world connections From simulation results to physical understanding
Course Description
This three-hour ECS 2025 session introduces Basilisk C for multiphase flow problems in coating applications. It assumes an intermediate CFD background and focuses on adaptive mesh refinement, interface tracking, and contact-line dynamics.
The examples are deliberately small: heat conduction, drop impact, and Landau-Levich dip coating. Each one introduces a numerical ingredient that appears again in coating-flow simulations.
Course Schedule
Hour 1: Foundations and First Steps (9:30-10:30)
Think before you compute
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9:30-9:45 Opening & Philosophy - Conservation laws and the “physics-first” approach to simulation
- Why adaptive mesh refinement matters for coating flows
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9:45-10:00 Example 0: Basic Conduction - Setting up a simple heat diffusion problem
- Understanding Basilisk’s syntax and structure. Basilisk C website is your best friend.
-
10:00-10:30 First Basilisk Code
Hour 2: Interface Dynamics (10:30-11:30)
Multiphase flow fundamentals
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10:30-10:50 Volume-of-Fluid Method - Interface tracking for two-phase flows
- Surface tension implementation in Basilisk
- Adaptive refinement at fluid interfaces
-
10:50-11:10 Example 1: Drop Impact - Wetting condition?
- Live demonstration with parameter variations
- Drop impact assignment
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11:10-11:30 Interactive Workshop - Modify bulk properties and see immediate results.
- Explore impact velocity effects on maximum force and spreading.
- Group exercise: predict and test outcomes
Hour 3: Coating Applications (11:30-12:30)
Contact line dynamics
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11:30-12:15 Example 2: Landau-Levich Dip Coating - Contact line dynamics in coating processes.
- Multiscale nature of the contact line problem.
- Need for subgrid models.
- Landau-Levich dip coating assignment.
-
12:15-12:30 Q&A and Next Steps - Discussion of participant-specific applications.
- Resources for continued learning.
- Community support and collaboration opportunities.
Prerequisites
- Intermediate knowledge of fluid mechanics and CFD concepts
- Basic programming experience (C preferred, but any language acceptable)
- Understanding of partial differential equations
- Laptop with Unix-like environment (Linux/Mac/WSL for Windows)
Pre-Course Setup
Required Software Installation:
This installation is tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and macOS 15.XX.
# Essential tools
sudo apt-get install gcc make gawk git
# Basilisk framework
git clone https://github.com/comphy-lab/Basilisk-101nano.git
cd Basilisk-101nano
chmod +x ./reset_install_requirements.sh
./reset_install_requirements.sh --hard
For some known issues, please refer to: Basilisk-C issues and Issue #3. Darcs is not supported in the latest version of Ubuntu using apt-get. Please see: Darcs website for more information on how to install Darcs. You can also install Basilisk without Darcs. Please follow the instructions here: Basilisk INSTALL.
Registration & Resources
Registration for this pre-conference session is handled through ECS 2025.
Technical Support:
Expected Outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Execute Basilisk simulations confidently on their own systems
- Modify key parameters to explore different physical scenarios
- Understand VOF methodology for interface tracking in multiphase flows
- Apply to coating processes through the Landau-Levich example
- Connect theory to practice by relating simulation results to physical phenomena
The point is practical: leave with a working Basilisk setup and a few small cases that can be modified after the workshop.