Curable liquid polymers are complex fluids whose physical behavior arises from the intricate coupling between non-Newtonian flow, heat transfer, and phase transition. UV-curable polymers, in particular, are widely used in medicine, electronics, 3D printing, and additive manufacturing. Like other non-Newtonian fluids, these materials exhibit unique phenomena associated with their complex rheology. For example, recent experiments have shown that when curable liquid polymers are withdrawn from a bath and exposed to UV light, they may develop defects during solidification once a critical withdrawal rate is exceeded. These defects are believed to originate from flow patterns in the bath. However, the underlying physical mechanisms remain poorly understood.

 

We study the interplay between fluid flow, heat transfer, phase transition, and rheology in curable liquid polymers, focusing on how these coupled processes govern the dynamics of transport phenomena in simple geometries. Our work aims to predict the spatiotemporal evolution of curing and fluid flow, while elucidating the fundamental physical mechanisms responsible for the observed behavior.

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