Nonlinear capillary oscillation of a charged drop

In the quadratic approximation with respect to the amplitudes of capillary oscillation and velocity field of the liquid moving inside a charged drop of a perfectly conducting fluid, it is shown that the liquid drop oscillates about a weakly prolate form. This refines the result obtained in the linear theory developed by Lord Rayleigh, who predicted oscillation about a spherical form. The extent of elongation is proportional to the initial amplitude of the principal mode and increases with the intrinsic charge carried by the drop. An estimate is obtained for the characteristic time of instability development for a critically charged drop.     

Electromagnetic radiation produced by linear oscillations of a charged drop

A dispersion equation is derived for the capillary oscillations of a charged drop of an ideal incompressible liquid travelling in an ideal incompressible ambient allowing for the energy lost via emission of electromagnetic radiation. The intensity of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a single drop and a storm cloud has been estimated.     

Capillary oscillations of an emitting charged viscous drop of finite conductivity

Capillary oscillations of a charged drop of a viscous incompressible liquid with finite conductivity emitting electromagnetic waves are considered. A dispersion relation for the capillary oscillations has been derived and analyzed using a linear approximation to oscillation amplitudes.     

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.     

Capillary oscillations and stability of a charged, viscous drop in a viscous dielectric medium

The scalarization method is used to obtain a dispersion relation for capillary oscillations of a charged, conducting drop in a viscous, dielectric medium. It is found that the instability growth rate of the charged interface depends substantially on the viscosity and density of the surrounding medium, dropping rapidly as they are increased. In the subcritical regime the influence of the viscosity and density of both media leads to a nonmonotonic dependence of the damping rate of the capillary motions of the liquid on the viscosity or density of the external medium for a fixed value of the viscosity or density of the internal medium. The falloff of the frequencies of the capillary motions with growth of the viscosity or density of the external medium is monotonic in this case. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 1–8 (September 1998)     

On the thickness of a boundary layer related to the oscillating free surface of a charged drop of a viscous liquid

The capillary oscillations of a charged drop of a viscous liquid are calculated in terms of the boundary layer theory in an approximation linear in oscillation amplitude. Calculation is accompanied with the estimation of a relative error that arises when the exact solution is replaced by an approximate one. It is shown that, for the calculation accuracy in the framework of the boundary layer theory to be about several percent, the thickness of the boundary layer near the free surface of the drop must be several times larger than that at which the intensity of the eddy flow caused by the oscillating surface decreases by e times. As the viscosity of the liquid grows, so does the thickness of the boundary layer.     

Nonlinear resonance interaction between the oscillation modes of a spherical liquid layer on the surface of a melting hailstone

Evolutionary equations are derived and solved that describe the time dependence of the oscillation mode amplitudes on the surface of a charged conducting liquid layer resting on a solid core. It is assumed that the layer experiences a multimode initial deformation. The equations are solved asymptotically in the second order of smallness in the small dimensionless amplitude of capillary oscillations on the surface of the layer. Mechanisms behind internal nonlinear resonance interaction between the modes of the liquid layer oscillations and behind energy transfer between the modes both in degenerate and in secondary combination resonances are investigated. It is found that in the degenerate resonance interaction between oscillation modes, the energy may be transferred not only from lower to higher modes but also vice versa if the higher mode is excited at the zero time. This conclusion is valid not only for a liquid layer on the surface of a solid core but also for a drop.     

On the interaction between a charged drop and an external acoustic field

An interaction between capillary oscillations of a charged drop and an external acoustic field is investigated under conditions in which nonlinear components of the acoustic pressure on the drop surface may be neglected. It is shown that equations describing the temporal evolution of modes of the capillary waves in this case may be either the Mathieu-Hill equations or ordinary inhomogeneous equations of the second order describing forced oscillations. In both cases, the drop instability (of a parametric or resonance type) may result in its disintegration due to deformation caused by the acoustic field at its own drop charge, subcritical in the sense of the Rayleigh criterion.     

Influence of charge carrier diffusion on the stability of a charged drop of a finite-conductivity liquid

A dispersion relation for the capillary oscillations of a spherical drop of a viscous incompressible liquid with a charge transfer finite rate is derived and analyzed with emphasis on the role of diffusion. It is shown that diffusion has the strongest influence on the stability of rapidly damped quasi-periodic motions of a low-conductivity liquid. The instability growth rate of capillary oscillations grows with the charge diffusion coefficient and decreases with rising conductivity of the liquid.     

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)     

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.     

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.     

Upper limit on the viscosity of a nuclear liquid

Small oscillations of the atomic nucleus in the model of a viscous charged incompressible liquid drop under the action of capillary and Coulomb forces about an equilibrium spherical form are considered. As a result of investigating the frequency spectrum of intrinsic surface oscillations of the nucleus, the existence of an upper limit on the viscosity of the nuclear liquid is proven, and a precise formula for this limit is obtained.The present work is based on a paper presented at the Second All-Union Working Conference on Gravitation and the Unification of Fundamental Fields, Kiev, October 25–28, 1082.Translated from Izvestiva Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 31–35, April, 1985.It remains to thank Prof. K. P. Stanyukovich for his interest in the work and numerous useful discussions and also Prof. D. D. Ivanenko for discussions of the result obtained.     

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.     

Instability of a charged spherical drop moving parallel to an external electrostatic field

It is shown that the pressure of electrostatic fields induced by the self-charge of a drop and by the polarization charge and aerodynamic pressure of a laminar gas flow around a moving charged drop acting simultaneously reduce the critical instability conditions for the surface of the drop. For these conditions, the spectrum of capillary oscillations of the drop is calculated. It is found that, at various values of the charge, field strength, and velocity of the drop, the vibrational instability of the drop surface develops through the interaction of different oscillation modes, namely, second and third, second and fourth, and third and fifth.     

Influence of gas motion inside a charged bubble in a liquid on the parameters of bubble oscillations

The influence of a finite rate of leveling of the gas pressure inside a charged bubble in an ideal incompressible liquid on the bubble volume and surface oscillations is studied in a linear approximation with respect to the surface oscillation amplitude. It is shown that the bubble shape is governed by superposition of spherical harmonics with amplitudes strongly depending on their frequencies, as well as on the physical properties of the gas inside the bubble and the ambient liquid.     

Electrostatic instability of a heavily charged conducting liquid jet

The effect of electric charge on the jet surface on the capillary instability of the jet and its disintegration into drops is analyzed. A theoretical explanation is given for the electrostatic mechanism of instability development and jet disintegration that is akin to the mechanisms behind the instability of a heavily charged drop (Rayleigh instability) and flat uniformly charged liquid surface (Tonks-Frenkel instability) but differs qualitatively from the conventional capillary mechanism of instability and disintegration.     

Influence of charge relaxation on the capillary oscillations of a charged viscous spheroidal drop

A dispersion relation is derived for the spectrum of capillary modes of a charged spheroidal drop of a viscous liquid with allowance for charge relaxation. It is shown that the finite charge transport rate leads to lowering of the instability growth rates for various capillary modes of a spheroidal drop of a low-viscosity liquid. As the degree of deformation of the drop increases, the magnitude of the absolute change in the growth rate caused by the finite rate of charge redistribution decreases. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 28–36 (August 1999)     

Capillary oscillations of a charged viscous spheroidal droplet

Dispersion relations are derived for the capillary oscillations of a charged viscous spheroidal droplet by scalarization within perturbation theory using an expansion in two small parameters, viz., the magnitude of the perturbation of the spheroidal surface as a result of thermal fluctuations and the magnitude of the deviation of the equilibrium spheroidal droplet shape from a spherical shape. It is shown analytically that the motion spectrum of the liquid consists of two components that interact in the linear theory: toroidal vortex motion and poloidal potential motions. A numerical analysis reveals that the instability growth rates of the higher modes of a highly charged droplet increase with enhancement of the degree of spheroidal strain and decrease rapidly as the viscosity of the liquid increases. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 20–27 (April 1998)     

Influence of charge relaxation on the capillary disintegration of a jet of a viscous dielectric liquid placed in an electrostatic field collinear with the axis of the jet

A dispersion relation is derived for capillary waves with an arbitrary symmetry on the surface of a charged jet of a finite-conductivity viscous liquid placed in an electric field collinear with the axis of the jet. Analytical calculations are carried out in an approximation that is linear in dimensionless wave amplitude. In the case of axisymmetric waves, the instability of which causes disintegration of the jet into drops, the finiteness of the potential equalization rate has a noticeable effect only for jets of poorly conducting liquids. The charge relaxation shows up in that “purely relaxation” periodic and aperiodic liquid flows arise. When the conductivity of the liquid declines, the instability growth rates for unstable waves increase and their spectrum extends toward short waves. A charge present on the surface of the jet enhances its instability. An increase in the charge surface diffusion coefficient variously influences the capillary and relaxation branches of the solution: the damping ratio increases in the former case and decreases in the latter. As the diffusion coefficient rises, relaxation flows may become unstable.