Published 6 issues per year
ISSN Print: 2152-5102
ISSN Online: 2152-5110
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Effect of Electrostatic Field on Rupture of Thin Power-Law Liquid Film
ABSTRACT
Nonlinear thin power-law type non-Newtonian liquid film rupture is analyzed by investigating the stability under the influence of a non-uniform electrostatic field to finite amplitude disturbances. The dynamics of the liquid film is formulated using the balance equations including a body force term due to van der Waals attractions. The effect of the electric field is included in the analysis only in the boundary condition at the liquid vapor interface. The governing equation for the film thickness was solved by finite difference method as part of an initial value problem for spatial periodic boundary conditions. The electric field stabilizes the film and increases the time to rupture when a long wavelength perturbation is introduced. The influence of the power law exponent on rupture is discussed.