Linear stability of a thin non-isothermal droplet spreading on a rotating disk

Previous works show that the linear stability of the contact line of an isothermal spreading droplet depends on the base state curvature of the free interface at the position of the unperturbed contact line [1]. Here the linear stability of a thin liquid droplet on a rotating disk is investigated, where the disk has a certain radial temperature profile and the ambient passive gas a constant temperature. It is shown that two different Marangoni effects influence the spreading beside centrifugal, gravitational, and capillary effects. The stability analysis prevails, that temperature gradients in the disk amplify some and damp other modes, while cooling the entire disk (or heating the gas) damps the growth rate of all modes and therefore seems to be an appropriate way to suppress the instability. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)