Numerical modeling of the spray coating of spinning bodies
In a recently published article, scientists deal with the spin coating of the interior of metal beverage cans.
Researchers derive the lubrication form of the fluid mechanical equations governing the motion of a thin liquid film on an arbitrarily curved, rotating, axisymmetric substrate. The resulting equations are discretised and then solved numerically using an efficient implicit finite difference algorithm. Non-Newtonian effects are included by incorporating an Ellis viscosity model.
Elimination of a possible defect in the spin coating process
The primary application for the work is to model the spin coating of the interior of two-piece metal beverage cans, and the scientists consider this problem in some depth. Specifically, they show how adjusting several parameters can eliminate one possible defect in the spin coating process: the tendency for droplets to detach from the substrate when the can is spun at high rotation rates.
The study is published in: Journal of Coatings Technology and Research March 2019, Volume 16, Issue 2, pp 363–376.
Image source: Pixabay
