Retraction of thin films coated by insoluble surfactants

De Corato, Marco (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Tammaro, Daniele ; Maffettone, Pier Luca ; Fueyo, Norberto (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: We investigate the retraction of a circular thin film coated with insoluble surfactants, which is punctured at its centre. We assume that the surface pressure of the liquid-gas interface is related to the number density of surfactants through a linear equation of state, which is characterized by a single parameter: the Gibbs dilation modulus. To solve the governing equations and track the deformation of the domain, we use the finite element method with an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach where the film surface is sharp. Our simulations show that the surface elasticity introduced by the surfactants slows down the retraction and introduces oscillations at early times. In agreement with previous experiments and theoretical analysis, we find that the presence of surfactants introduces perturbations of the film thickness over progressively larger distances as the surface elasticity increases. The surface perturbations travel faster than the retracting edge of the film at a speed proportional to the Gibbs modulus. For large values of the Gibbs modulus, the interface behaviour approaches that of an incompressible two-dimensional solid. Our analysis sheds light on the effect of insoluble surfactants on the opening of a circular hole in a thin film and can be extended to investigate the onset of surface cracks and fractures. © 2022 Authors

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2022.412

Año: 2022

Publicado en: JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS 942 (2022), [24 pp.]
ISSN: 0022-1120

Factor impacto JCR: 3.7 (2022)

Categ. JCR: PHYSICS, FLUIDS & PLASMAS rank: 6 / 34 = 0.176 (2022) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: MECHANICS rank: 37 / 137 = 0.27 (2022) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 6.5 - Engineering (Q1) - Mathematics (Q1) - Physics and Astronomy (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.409 - Applied Mathematics (Q1) - Mechanics of Materials (Q1) - Mechanical Engineering (Q1) - Condensed Matter Physics (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/ICJ2018-035270-I
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2020-113033GB-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Mecánica de Fluidos (Dpto. Ciencia Tecnol.Mater.Fl.)