Non-linear waves on the surface of a falling film of power-law fluid on a vertical porous plane are investigated. The waves are described by evolution equations generalising equations previously derived in the case of solid plane. It is shown that the slip condition on the interface between pure liquid and the porous substrate drastically changes structure of the steady waves travelling in the film. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Usha R

Department of Mathematics

Evolution equations

FALLING FILM

Nonlinear waves

POROUS SUBSTRATES

Power law fluid

PURE LIQUIDS

SLIP CONDITION

STEADY WAVES

THIN FLUID FILMS

Bifurcation (mathematics)

Differential equations

Phase interfaces

Waves

FLUIDS

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IIT Madras

International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics

A thin liquid layer of a non-Newtonian film falling down an inclined plane that is subjected to nonuniform heating has been considered. The temperature of the inclined plane is assumed to be linearly distributed and the case when the temperature gradient is positive or negative is investigated. The film flow is influenced by gravity, mean surface tension, and thermocapillary forces acting along the free surface. The coupling of thermocapillary instability and surface-wave instabilities is studied for two-dimensional disturbances. A nonlinear evolution equation is derived by applying the long-wave theory, and the equation governs the evolution of a power-law film flowing down a nonuniformly heated inclined plane. The linear stability analysis shows that the film flow system is stable when the plate temperature decreases in the downstream direction while it is less stable for increasing temperature along the plate. Weakly nonlinear stability analysis using the method of multiple scales has been investigated and this leads to a secular equation of the Ginzburg-Landau type. The analysis shows that both supercritical stability and subcritical instability are possible for the film flow system. The results indicate the existence of finite-amplitude waves, and the threshold amplitude and nonlinear speed of these waves are influenced by thermocapillarity. The nonlinear evolution equation for the film thickness is solved numerically in a periodic domain in the supercritical stable region, and the results show that the shape of the wave is influenced by the choice of wave number, non-Newtonian rheology, and nonuniform heating. Copyright © 2009 by ASME.

Journal of Fluids Engineering, Transactions of the ASME

Long-wave instabilities in a non-Newtonian film on a nonuniformly heated inclined plane

The flow of a thin Newtonian fluid layer on a porous inclined plane is considered. Applying the long-wave theory, a nonlinear evolution equation for the thickness of the film is obtained. It is assumed that the flow through the porous medium is governed by Darcy's law. The critical conditions for the onset of instability of a fluid layer flowing down an inclined porous wall, when the characteristic length scale of the pore space is much smaller than the depth of the fluid layer above, are obtained. The results of the linear stability analysis reveal that the film flow system on a porous inclined plane is more unstable than that on a rigid inclined plane and that increasing the permeability of the porous medium enhances the destabilizing effect. A weakly nonlinear stability analysis by the method of multiple scales shows that there is a range of wave numbers with a supercritical bifurcation, and a range of larger wave numbers with a subcritical bifurcation. Numerical solution of the evolution equation in a periodic domain indicates the existence of permanent finite-amplitude waves of different kinds in the supercritical stable region. The long-time waveforms are either time-independent waves of permanent form that propagate or time-dependent modes that oscillate slightly in the amplitude. The presence of the porous substrate promotes this oscillatory behavior. The results show that the shape and amplitude of the waves are influenced by the permeability of the porous medium. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Fulltext

Physics of Fluids

Thin Newtonian film flow down a porous inclined plane: Stability analysis

Weakly nonlinear stability analysis of thin power-law liquid film flowing down an inclined plane including the phase change effects at the interface has been investigated. A normal mode approach and the method of multiple scales are employed to carry out the linear stability solution and the nonlinear stability solution for the film flow system. The results show that both the supercritical stability and subcritical instability are possible for condensate, evaporating and isothermal power-law liquid film down an inclined plane. The stability characteristics of the power-law liquid film show that isothermal and evaporating films are unstable for any value of power-law index 'n' while there exists a critical value of power-law index 'n' for the case of condensate film above which condensate film flow system is always stable. Thus, the results of the present analysis show that the mass transfer effects play a significant role in modifying the stability characteristics of the non-Newtonian power-law fluid flow system. The condensate (evaporating) power-law fluid film is more stable (unstable) than the isothermal power-law fluid film flowing down an inclined plane.

Journal of Applied Mechanics, Transactions ASME

Weakly Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Condensate/Evaporating Power-Law Liquid Film Down an Inclined Plane

Bifurcation of attractor in the falling film problem

Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics

Bifurcation analysis of the travelling waves on a falling power-law fluid film

Wave regimes on power-law fluid film flowing down a porous plane

Journal	International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics
ISSN	00207462
Open Access	No