Patterned coating by suspensions

Abstract

This is a fluid dynamics video submitted to the Gallery of Fluid Motion of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics. We examine the Landau-Levich flow of a suspension of neutrally buoyant particles within a rotating glass cylinder. This differs from previously investigated systems in that we deal with macroscopic particles which immediately exceed the thickness of the deposited liquid film. Thus, the presence of particles on the liquid-coated wall creates excess surface area, leading to a capillary attraction between particles. In turn, this capillary attraction induces phase separation of the suspension coating into regions of either dense particle clustering or clear liquid.