Investigation of the effect of the Coriolis force on a thin fluid film on a rotating disk

The effect of the Coriolis force on the evolution of a thin film of Newtonian fluid on a rotating disk is investigated. The thin-film approximation is made in which inertia terms in the Navier–Stokes equation are neglected. This requires that the thickness of the thin film be less than the thickness of the Ekman boundary layer in a rotating fluid of the same kinematic viscosity. A new first-order quasi-linear partial differential equation for the thickness of the thin film, which describes viscous, centrifugal and Coriolis-force effects, is derived. It extends an equation due to Emslie et al. J. Appl. Phys. 29, 858 (1958)] which was obtained neglecting the Coriolis force. The problem is formulated as a Cauchy initial-value problem. As time increases the surface profile flattens and, if the initial profile is sufficiently negative, it develops a breaking wave. Numerical solutions of the new equation, obtained by integrating along its characteristic curves, are compared with analytical solutions of the equation of Emslie et al. to determine the effect of the Coriolis force on the surface flattening, the wave breaking and the streamlines when inertia terms are neglected.