dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Shape and Stability of a Viscous Thread
| Authors | Sergey Senchenko, Tomas Bohr |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0402130 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0402130 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.056301 |
Abstract
When a viscous fluid, like oil or syrup, streams from a small orifice and falls freely under gravity, it forms a long slender thread, which can be maintained in a stable, stationary state with lengths up to several meters. We shall discuss the shape of such liquid threads and their surprising stability. It turns out that the strong advection of the falling fluid can almost outrun the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. Even for a very viscous fluid like sirup or silicone oil, the asymptotic shape and stability is independent of viscosity and small perturbations grow with time as $\exp({{\rm C} t^{{1/4}}})$, where the constant is independent of viscosity. The corresponding spatial growth has the form $\exp({(z/L)^{{1/8}}})$, where $z$ is the down stream distance and $L \sim Q^2 \sigma^{-2} g$ and where $\sigma$ is the surface tension, $g$ is the gravity and $Q$ is the flux. However, the value of viscosity determines the break-up length of a thread $L_{\nu} \sim \nu^{1/4}$ and thus the possibility of observing the $\exp({{\rm C} t^{{1/4}}})$ type asymptotics.
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"abstract": "When a viscous fluid, like oil or syrup, streams from a small orifice and\nfalls freely under gravity, it forms a long slender thread, which can be\nmaintained in a stable, stationary state with lengths up to several meters. We\nshall discuss the shape of such liquid threads and their surprising stability.\nIt turns out that the strong advection of the falling fluid can almost outrun\nthe Rayleigh-Plateau instability. Even for a very viscous fluid like sirup or\nsilicone oil, the asymptotic shape and stability is independent of viscosity\nand small perturbations grow with time as $\\exp({{\\rm C} t^{{1/4}}})$, where\nthe constant is independent of viscosity. The corresponding spatial growth has\nthe form $\\exp({(z/L)^{{1/8}}})$, where $z$ is the down stream distance and $L\n\\sim Q^2 \\sigma^{-2} g$ and where $\\sigma$ is the surface tension, $g$ is the\ngravity and $Q$ is the flux. However, the value of viscosity determines the\nbreak-up length of a thread $L_{\\nu} \\sim \\nu^{1/4}$ and thus the possibility\nof observing the $\\exp({{\\rm C} t^{{1/4}}})$ type asymptotics.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0402130",
"authors": [
"Sergey Senchenko",
"Tomas Bohr"
],
"categories": [
"physics.flu-dyn"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.71.056301",
"title": "The Shape and Stability of a Viscous Thread",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0402130"
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