Thermocapillary-assisted pulling of thin films: Application to molten metals

摘要

We study the thermocapillary stabilization of a free liquid film as it is formed by being pulled out of a bath at constant speed. For sufficiently large stresses induced at the interface through a controlled temperature gradient, a continuous film of liquid can be processed. For negligible inertial effects, the film thickness only depends on the capillary length and on the strength of the surface tension variation. The theory suggests that very thin ribbons or foils of molten material can be drawn out of a melt over a wide range of thicknesses and at speeds relevant to manufacturing.