Coating of micropolar fluid during non-isothermal reverse roll coating phenomena

Reverse roll coating is a high-speed coating process used in many applications. The single largest application for reverse roll coating is applying architectural paint to coils of sheet metal; however, in the converting industry reverse roll coating is used for some thermal coatings, adhesives, color laser paper receivers, wax coatings, magnetic coatings, vinyl dispersions for wallcovering, some specialty light sensitive applications, and many specialty products that require a high precision application process. This work presents a mathematical model for the steady flow of non-isothermal, incompressible, micropolar fluid in the metering nip of a reverse roll coater with velocity slip applied at both roll’s surfaces. Lubrication approximation theory (LAT) is utilized to reduce the complexity of the non-dimensional equations. Exact solutions for pressure gradient, velocity, and temperature are achieved. At the same time, numerical techniques (Simpson’s 3/8 rule with Newton Raphson method) are used to compute the pressure distribution, coating thickness, flow rate, and separation points. Effects of coupling number, slip parameter, microrotation, and velocity ratio on velocity, pressure, temperature, and pressure gradient are presented in graphs. It is observed from the current analysis that the intrinsic rotations of the fluid particles prove to be the controlling parameter of the pressure gradient, which significantly varies the coating thickness. Also, as a result of velocity slip, the flow rate declines and the coating thickness reduces as the fluid moves faster along the boundary walls.