DETLIF · Dynamic Effects in Thin Liquid Films

The proposal “Dynamic effects in thin liquid films” is devoted to studying the DLVO surface forces in dynamic conditions. During the film drainage a number of complementary phenomena on the film surfaces occur, which affect the total interaction between them. For example, the surfactant adsorption and the distribution of the surface charges upon the film surfaces are affected by the process of film thinning. Therefore the electrostatic and the van der Waals forces are not homogeneously distributed upon the film surfaces and the total surface charge density varies with the film thickness. The pressure tensor in the draining liquid films is asymmetrical. These effects are generally avoided in the current hydrodynamic theory of thin liquid films. The utilization of such theory in studying non-DLVO surface forces can create a certain misleading and wrong interpretation of the experimental results. The present proposal contains a concise theory (set of equations) accounting for the dynamic effects on the DLVO forces in thin liquid films. The set of equations will be solved numerically. The theory will validated by experiment. The outcome of this proposal is “purified” from the basic approximations regarding the surface forces hydrodynamic theory of thin liquid films. This theory can be trusted for studying non-DLVO forces in dynamic liquid films.