Numerical prediction of the film thickening due to surfactants in the Landau-Levich problem

In this work numerical solutions of the dip coating problem in the presence of a soluble surfactant are shown. Predictions of film thickening as well as thickening factors are in very good agreement with published experimental data, showing that pure hydrodynamic modeling suffices to mimic the process. Our numerical solutions provide a wealth of information on the functioning of the dip coating system; they show the appearance of a second stagnation point located in the bulk phase near the dynamic meniscus and they give clues about how the flow patterns might change as the surfactant becomes less soluble. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3341019]