We propose an alternative to the prevailing framework for modelling tear-film breakup, which posits a layered structure with a mucus layer next to the cornea and an aqueous layer on top. Experimental evidence shows continuous variation of mucin concentration throughout the tear film, with no distinct boundary between the two layers. Thus, we consider a continuous-viscosity model that replaces the mucus and aqueous layers by a single liquid layer with continuous profiles of mucin concentration and viscosity, which are governed by advection–diffusion of mucin. The lipids coating the tear film are treated as insoluble surfactants as previously, and slip is allowed on the ocular surface. Using the thin-film approximation, we carry out linear stability analysis and nonlinear numerical simulations of tear-film breakup driven by van der Waals attraction. Results show that for the same average viscosity, having more viscous material near the ocular surface stabilizes the film and prolongs the breakup time. Compared with the layered models, the continuous-viscosity model predicts film breakup times that are in better agreement with experimental data. Finally, we also suggest a hydrodynamic explanation for how pathological loss of membrane-associated mucins may lead to faster breakup.
A hydrodynamic model is used for numerical simulations of a polymer solution in a dip-coating-like experiment. We focus on the regime of small capillary numbers where the liquid flow is driven by evaporation, in contrast to the well-known Landau-Levich regime dominated by viscous forces. Lubrication approximation is used to describe the flow in the liquid phase. Evaporation in stagnant air is considered (diffusion-limited evaporation), which results in a coupling between liquid and gas phases. Self-patterning due to the solutal Marangoni effect is observed for some ranges of the control parameters. We first investigate the effect of evaporation rate on the deposit morphology. Then the role of the spatial variations in the evaporative flux on the wavelength and mean thickness of the dried deposit is ascertained, by comparing the 2D and 1D diffusion models for the gas phase. Finally, for the very low substrate velocities, we discuss the relative importance of diffusive and advective components of the polymer flux, and consequences on the choice of the boundary conditions.
We explore the electric-field-induced interfacial instabilities of a trilayer composed of a thin elastic film confined between two viscous layers. A linear stability analysis (LSA) is performed to uncover the growth rate and length scale of the different unstable modes. Application of a normal external electric field on such a configuration can deform the two coupled elastic-viscous interfaces either by an in-phase bending or an antiphase squeezing mode. The bending mode has a long-wave nature, and is present even at a vanishingly small destabilizing field. In contrast, the squeezing mode has finite wave-number characteristics and originates only beyond a threshold strength of the electric field. This is in contrast to the instabilities of the viscous films with multiple interfaces where both modes are found to possess long-wave characteristics. The elastic film is unstable by bending mode when the stabilizing forces due to the in-plane curvature and the elastic stiffness are strong and the destabilizing electric field is relatively weak. In comparison, as the electric field increases, a subdominant squeezing mode can also appear beyond a threshold destabilizing field. A dominant squeezing mode is observed when the destabilizing field is significantly strong and the elastic films are relatively softer with lower elastic modulus. In the absence of liquid layers, a free elastic film is also found to be unstable by long-wave bending and finite wave-number squeezing modes. The LSA asymptotically recovers the results obtained by the previous formulations where the membrane bending elasticity is approximately incorporated as a correction term in the normal stress boundary condition. Interestingly, the presence of a very weak stabilizing influence due to a smaller interfacial tension at the elastic-viscous interfaces opens up the possibility of fabricating submicron patterns exploiting the instabilities of a trilayer.
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