Capillary instability due to a shear stress on the free surface of a viscoelastic fluid layer

• Published in: Journal of non-Newtonian fluid mechanics Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 171 - 186
• Main Author: Dávalos-Orozco, L.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 1992; Elsevier
• Subjects: Approximation theory; Capillarity; capillary instability; Couette flow; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid dynamics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Hydrodynamic stability; Mathematical models; Oldroyd model; Orr-Sommerfeld equation; Physics; return flow; Shear stress; Stability; viscoelastic fluid layer; Viscoelasticity; Couette flow; Orr-Sommerfeld equation; Oldroyd model; viscoelastic fluid layer; return flow; capillary instability; Viscoelastic fluid; Approximation; Capillarity; Oldroyd fluid; Hydrodynamic instability; Free surface flow; Liquid layer
• ISSN: 0377-0257; 1873-2631
• DOI: 10.1016/0377-0257(92)85002-E

In this paper we investigate the hydrodynamic instability of a viscoelastic fluid layer subject to a shear stress on its free surface. Use is made of the Oldroyd viscoelastic fluid model. The stability of two kinds of main flows which satisfy the balance of momentum and constitutive equations is investigated. They are the Couette flow (linear velocity profile) and the return flow (parabolic velocity profile, representing one cell inside a slot). The small-wavenumber approximation is used to solve the Orr-Sommer-feld equation for the two main flows.