U.S.-Brazil Program Cooperative Research on Coating Flow Studies

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

0104714 Scriven This U.S.-Brazil Program award will support Dr. L.E Scriven of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in a research collaboration with Eng. Marcio S. Carvalho, Eng. Paulo R. Souza-Mendes, and Eng. Luis F. Azevedo of the Pontifica Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC). The primary objective is to document experimentally, explain theoretically, and reduce to computer code for process analysis, design and optimization two phenomena: 1. The film-splitting instabilities and generation of mist that limit productivity of roll-coaters, which are widespread in industry. 2. The breakdown of steady, coherent flow in fast slot-coating to form a thin liquid layer; this breakdown limits productivity of slot coaters, a common precision device in industry. Liquid applied coating processes are an enabling technology in about 11% of total industrial production in the U.S., E.C. and Japan, and of increasing importance in advancing economies such as Brazil's. This collaboration will combine the expertise of researchers at PUC in coating flows, polymer processing, and experimental technique in fluid mechanics with the expertise in coating processes at Minnesota, one of the leading centers in the country in this area.