Investigation on dip coating process by mathematical modeling of non-Newtonian fluid coating on cylindrical substrate

A mathematical model for the dip coating process has been developed for cylindrical geometries with non-Newtonian fluids. This investigation explores the effects of the substrate radius and hydrodynamic behavior of the non-Newtonian viscous fluid on the resulting thin film on the substrate. The coating fluid studied, Dymax 1186-MT, is a resin for fiber optics and used as a matrix to suspend 1 vol. % titanium dioxide particles. The coating substrate is a 100 μm diameter fiber optic diffuser. Ellis viscosity model is applied as a non-Newtonian viscous model for coating thickness prediction, including the influence of viscosity in low shear rates that occurs near the surface of the withdrawal film. In addition, the results of the Newtonian and power law models are compared with the Ellis model outcomes. The rheological properties and surface tension of fluids were analyzed and applied in the models and a good agreement between experimental and analytical solutions was obtained for Ellis model.