RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR INSTABILITY OF A CYLINDRICAL INTERFACE BETWEEN TWO INVISCID FLUIDS

摘要

A theoretical analysis for the instability of a fluid film around a cylinder in an immiscible fluid is presented. A general dispersion equation, relating wave number to Department al Mining and growth rate, is derived with consideration of the effects of the cylindrical interface and a finite film thickness. Application of the dispersion equation to the breakup of a liquid film around a cylindrical body in still air leads to a prediction of the dominant wavelength by lambda = 2 pi root 2/root(1/R(2) + rho(1)g/q), where R is the radius of the cylinder, rho(1) is the density of the liquid, g is the acceleration due to gravity, sigma is the surface tension. Experiments showed good agreement with the present analysis. The dominant wavelength decreases with a decrease in the radius of the cylindrical body. A previous report on the breakup of a liquid film around a horizontal cylindrical body is shown to be error. [References: 12]