2024/07/16 by Julio Careaga, Careaga, Julio, Peter A. Korevaar +5
Chemical Engineering · Chemistry · Engineering · #65N06 #76B45 #76T20 #Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics and Thin Films #G.1.10 #G.1.8 #Rheology and Fluid Dynamics Studies #Surfactants and Colloidal Systems
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2407.11868
openalex publication_date 2024/07/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Surfactants that are deposited at aqueous liquid films have the ability to generate surface tension gradients at the air-water interface, and thereby induce Marangoni flow. Combined with the production and depletion of surfactants at different locations of source and drains, out-of-equilibrium surface tension gradients can be sustained, resulting in Marangoni flow patterns that drive e.g., self-organization of amphiphile myelin assemblies. Here, a mathematical model based on the thin-film equations is proposed to simulate these flow patterns. The model equations are based on the surfactant source and drain concentrations, film-height and surfactant bulk concentration. We present a numerical scheme for approximating the model equations and discuss the numerically observed properties of the model.