Thickness of a boundary layer attributed to the wave motion on the charged free surface of a viscous liquid

It is shown that the analytical estimator for the boundary layer thickness that contains the wave frequency in the denominator and is proposed for approximate calculation of the wave motion on the free surface of a viscous liquid cannot be formally applied to the wave motion on the uniformly charged liquid surface. The fact is that, when the surface charge density attains a value critical in terms for the Tonks-Frenkel instability, the wave frequency tends to zero. From the analysis of liquid motions near the electric charge critical density, a technique is proposed for calculating the thickness of a boundary layer attributed to flows of various kinds. It is found that the thickness of the boundary layer due to aperiodic flows with amplitudes exponentially growing with time (such flows take place at the stage of instability against the surface charge) does not exceed a few tenths of the wavelength, whereas the thickness of the boundary layer due to exponentially decaying liquid flows is roughly equal to the wavelength.     

Convective flows in a layer of a viscous liquid with the uniformly charged free surface

It is found theoretically that the critical conditions under which a charged liquid surface becomes unstable against the electric charge relax as a result of interaction between capillary-gravitational and convective flows in the liquid. As the surface charge density approaches a value critical in terms of development of Tonks-Frenkel instability, convection in the liquid arises at a temperature gradient however small, this effect depending on the liquid layer thickness.     

On the oscillations of a charged drop of a finite-conductivity viscous liquid

A dispersion relation for the capillary oscillations of a charged spherical drop of a viscous incompressible finite-conductivity liquid is derived and analyzed. It is found that electric currents inside the charged drop equalize its potential and produce liquid flows interacting with both potential and eddy poloidal liquid flows inside the drop that are due to drop oscillations. Taking into account the finiteness of the rate of potential equalization over the drop surface leads to an additional damping of the capillary oscillations that arises because of the increased role of energy dissipation.     

On the structure of the velocity field under the free spheroidal surface of a viscous liquid drop oscillating in an electrostatic field

An asymptotic analytical solution to an initial boundary-value problem considering (i) the time evolution of the capillary oscillation amplitude as applied to a viscous spheroidal liquid drop placed in a uniform electrostatic field and (ii) the liquid flow velocity field inside the drop is found. The problem is solved in an approximation that is linear in two small parameters: the dimensionless oscillation amplitude and the dimensionless field-induced constant deformation of the equilibrium (spherical) shape of the drop. Terms proportional to the product of the small parameters are retained. In this approximation, interaction between oscillation modes is revealed. It is shown that the intensity of the eddy component of the oscillation-related velocity field depends on the liquid viscosity and the external uniform electrostatic field strength. The intensity of the eddy component decays rapidly with distance from the free surface. The depth to which the eddy flow (which is caused by periodical flows on the free surface) penetrates into the drop is a nonmonotonic function of the polar angle and increases with dimensionless viscosity and field strength.     

Boundary layer theory modified for analyzing finite-amplitude oscillations of a viscous liquid charged drop

The existing concepts of the boundary layer arising near the free surface of a viscous liquid, which is related to its periodic motion, are revised with the aim to calculate finite-amplitude linear oscillations of a viscous liquid charged drop. Equations complementing the boundary layer theory are derived for the vicinity of the oscillating free spherical surface of the drop. An analytical solution to these equations is found, comparison with an exact solution is made, and an estimate of the boundary layer thickness is obtained. The domain of applicability of the modified theory is defined.     

On the time evolution of the surface shape of a charged viscous liquid drop deformed at zero time

The problem of capillary oscillations of the equilibrium spherical shape of a charged viscous incompressible liquid drop is solved in an approximation linear in amplitude of the initial deformation that is represented by a finite sum of axisymmetric modes. In this approximation, the shape of the drop as a function of time, as well as the velocity and pressure fields of the liquid in it, may be represented by infinite series in roots of the dispersion relation and by finite sums in numbers of the initially excited modes. In the cases of low, moderate, and high viscosity, the infinite series in roots of the dispersion relation can be asymptotically correctly replaced by a finite number of terms to find compact analytical expressions that are convenient for further analysis. These expressions can be used for finding higher order approximations in amplitude of the initial deformation.     

On the initiation of a corona discharge near the surface of a nonlinearly oscillating liquid layer on the surface of a charged hailstone

An expression is derived for the electric field strength near a wet hailstone in an approximation quadratic in the oscillation amplitude of a charged liquid layer on its surface. It is found that the electric field strength in a small neighborhood of the capillary wave crests grows with the number of a mode governing the initial deformation of the equilibrium (spherical) shape of the liquid layer. Even if the charge is small (when the Rayleigh parameter of the hailstone equals one-hundredth of the value critical for stability against the self-charge), the electric field near the hailstone is high enough for initiating a corona discharge in its vicinity.     

Analytical study of nonlinear vibrations of a charged viscous liquid drop

The generatrix of a nonlinearly vibrating charged drop of a viscous incompressible conducting liquid is found by directly expanding the equilibrium spherical shape of the drop in the amplitude of initial multimode deformation up to second-order terms. A fact previously unknown in the theory of nonlinear interaction is discovered: the energy of an initially excited vibration mode of a low-viscosity liquid drop is gradually (within several vibrations periods) transferred to the mode excited by only nonlinear interaction. Irrespectively of the form of the initial deformation, an unstable viscous drop bearing a charge slightly exceeding the critical Rayleigh value takes the shape of a prolate spheroid because of viscous damping of all the modes (except for the fundamental one) for a characteristic time depending on the damping rates of the initially excited modes and the further evolution of the drop is governed by the fundamental mode. In a high-viscosity drop, the rate of rise of the unstable fundamental mode amplitude does not increase continuously with time, contrary to the predictions of nonlinear analysis in terms of the ideal liquid model: it first decreases to a value slightly differing from zero (which depends on the extent of supercriticality of the charge and viscosity of the liquid), remains small for a while (the unstable mode amplitude remains virtually time-independent), and then starts growing.     

Instability of a charged layer of a viscous liquid on the surface of a solid spherical core

The dispersion relation for the spectrum of capillary waves of a spherical layer of a viscous liquid coating a solid spherical core with a layer of finite thickness is introduced and analyzed. It is shown that the existence of two mechanisms for the viscous dissipation of the energy of the capillary-wave motions of the liquid, viz., damping in the bulk of the layer and on the solid core, leads to restriction of the spectrum of the realizable capillary waves of the liquid on both the high-and low-mode sides. At a fixed value of the system charge which is supercritical for the first several capillary modes, the maximum growth rates in the case of a small solid core are possessed by modes from the middle of the band of unstable modes, while in thin liquid layers the highest of the unstable modes have the largest growth rates. This points out differences in the realization of the instability of the charged surface of the spherical layer for small and large relative sizes of the solid core. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 8–13 (September 1997)     

On the theory of a boundary layer associated with wave motion on the free surface of a liquid

A modified theory of a boundary layer associated with a periodic capillary-gravitational motion on the free surface of an infinitely deep viscous liquid is proposed. The flow in the boundary layer is described in terms of a simplified (compared with the complete statement) model problem a solution to which correctly reflects the main features of an exact asymptotic solution: the rapid decay of the flow eddy part with depth of the liquid and insignificance of some terms appearing in the complete statement. The boundary layer thickness at which the discrepancy between the exact asymptotic solution and model solution is within a given margin is estimated.     

Stability of a charged drop of a viscous electrically conducting liquid in a viscous electrically conducting medium

A dispersion relation is derived for capillary oscillations of a charged electrically conducting viscous drop in an electrically conducting viscous medium. It is shown that aperiodic instability of the charged interface between the two media can arise in this system, with a growth rate that depends qualitatively differently on the ratio of their conductivities in different ranges of values of this ratio. In a certain range of conductivity ratios the drop undergoes oscillatory instability. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 34–42 (October 1999)     

Modification of the boundary layer theory for analysis of finite-amplitude oscillations of a charged bubble in a viscous liquid

The prevailing concepts concerning the boundary layer near the free surface of a viscous liquid associated with oscillatory motion are modified for calculating finite-amplitude linear oscillations of a charged bubble in this liquid. Equations of the boundary layer theory for the neighbourhood of the oscillating free spherical surface of a charged bubble in a dielectric liquid are derived, their analytic solution is obtained and compared with the exact solution, and the thickness of the boundary layer is assessed. The range of applicability of the modified theory is determined.     

On capillary motion of a viscoelastic liquid with a charged free surface

The structure of the capillary-relaxation motion spectrum in a liquid with a charged free surface has been investigated taking into account the viscosity relaxation effect. On the basis of numerical analysis of the dispersion equation for the wave motion in a viscoelastic incompressible liquid, it is shown that for a given wave number the range of characteristic relaxation times in which relaxation-type wave motion exists is limited and expands with increasing wave number. The growth rate of instability of the charged liquid surface markedly depends on the characteristic relaxation time and increases with its growth; in liquids with elastic properties, the energy dissipation rate of capillary motion is enhanced. At a surface charge density that is supercritical for the onset of Tonks-Frenkel instability, both purely gravitational waves and waves of a relaxational nature exist.     

Instability development on the charged free surface of a horizontal liquid layer with thermal convection

The instability of the charged free surface of a horizontal liquid layer heated from the solid bottom against excess electric charge is studied theoretically for the case in which this type of instability is combined with thermal-convective instability. The structure of the total spectrum of unstable wave flows and physical parameters influencing the structure of the spectrum are determined.     

On the possibility of corona initiation at the surface of a liquid layer nonlinearly oscillating on the surface of a charged hailstone placed in a uniform electrostatic field

An expression for the electric field strength near a watered hailstone is derived in an approximation quadratic in the amplitude of capillary oscillations of a charged conducting liquid layer covering the hailstone. As the number of the mode governing the initial deformation of the equilibrium spherical free surface of the liquid layer increases and its thickness decreases, the electric field strength in the neighborhood of the capillary wave crests rises. Even in the case of small charges and low electric fields, the electric field near the hailstone is high enough to initiate a corona.     

Instability of a charged spherical viscous drop moving relative to a medium

It is shown that, as the velocity of the flow around a charged drop of viscous liquid increases the drop charge value critical for the occurrence of drop instability rapidly decreases. It is found that, for some domains of values of the charge, the ratio of densities of the media, and the ambient velocity, the even and odd modes of the drop capillary oscillations pairwise couple with each other, which represents drop vibrational instability against the tangential discontinuity of the velocity field at the drop surface. At medium velocities larger than those associated with such domains, the instability growth rates for odd modes exceed the increments of even modes with smaller orders, which corresponds to the parachute-like deformation of the drop in the flow.     

On calculating the oscillations of a viscous liquid layer over a solid spherical core in terms of the boundary layer theory

The theory of a boundary layer near the periodically oscillating free surface of a spherical viscous liquid layer over a solid core (bottom) is modified. Two boundary layers are considered to adequately describe a liquid viscous flow in the system: one at the free surface of the liquid and the other at the solid bottom. The thicknesses of the boundary layers are estimated, which provide any given discrepancy between an exact solution to the model problem and a solution obtained in the small viscosity approximation. Taking into account the boundary layer near the solid bottom is shown to be significant only for lower oscillation modes. For higher modes, the flow near the core can be considered potential. In the case of lower modes and shallow liquid, the surface and bottom boundary layers overlap and an eddy flow occupies the entire volume of the liquid.     

Nonlinear capillary-gravitational periodic waves on the charged surface of a finite-thickness viscous liquid

An analytical expression for the time evolution of the profile of a nonlinear periodic capillary-gravitational wave traveling over the charged surface of a viscous incompressible finite-thickness liquid is found. The calculation is carried out in the second order of smallness in wave amplitude. It is shown that the dependence of a nonlinear correction to a linear solution on the liquid viscosity and liquid layer thickness changes qualitatively in going from thick to thin liquid layers.     

On the possibility of initiating a corona discharge at the crests of nonlinear waves on the surface of a charged thin layer of a viscous conducting liquid

An analytic expression for the electrostatic field strength at the free surface of a thin layer of a uniformly charged viscous incompressible liquid is obtained in second-order asymptotic calculations in the amplitude of a periodic capillary-gravity wave propagating over the liquid surface. It is shown that a corona discharge at the crests of the waves can be initiated at subcritical values of the field strength (in the sense of possible realization of the Tonks-Frenkel instability). The electrostatic field strength at the crests of nonlinear waves increases with the wavenumber and the wave amplitude.     

On the stability of a nonaxisymmetric charged jet of a viscous conducting liquid

A dispersion equation is derived for axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric capillary oscillations in a jet of viscous conducting liquid subjected to a constant potential. It is shown that conditions arising when the surface charge density in the jet is high cause the instability of nonaxisymmetric, rather than axisymmetric, modes with the resulting disintegration of the jet into drops of various sizes. This theoretical finding allows one to correctly interpret of experimental data for the spontaneous disintegration of charged jets.