Simplified modeling of slide-fed curtain coating flow

Simplified model of slide-fed curtain coating flow has been developed and tested in this study. It rests on the sheet profile equations for curtain thickness in curtain flow and its trajectory derived by the integral momentum balance approach of Higgins and Scriven (1979) and Kistler (1983). It also draws on the film profile equation of film thickness variation in flow down a slide. The equations have been solved in finite difference approximation by Newton iteration with continuation. The results show that how inertia (Reynolds number), surface tension (capillary number), inclination angle of the slide, and air pressure difference across the curtain affect sheet trajectory and thickness profile. It has been revealed that approximate models can be useful to easily analyze coating flow dynamics without complex computations, giving qualitative agreement with full theory and with experiment.