Experimental evidence for a short-wave global mode in film flow along periodic corrugations
Ημερομηνία
2013Λέξη-κλειδί
Επιτομή
The primary instability of liquid film flow along periodically corrugated substrates is studied experimentally. Two different wall shapes, of the same wavelength and height, are tested for a wide range of inclinations. It is found that, beyond a specific inclination, a new instability mode occurs before the classical, convective, long-wave one. This is a short, travelling wave, which is highly regular and persistently two-dimensional, and appears to be a global mode. The exact shape of the corrugations has a leading-order effect on the inclination at which the new mode appears and on its wavelength at inception. Compared with the behaviour of film flow on a flat substrate, the presently tested periodic walls are found to delay very significantly, but each one to a different extent, the onset of the primary instability. This delay increases with inclination, and presents a distinct discontinuity when transition from the long-to the short-wave mode takes place.