Instability of a micrometric fluid strip under controlled initial

J. DIEZ; J. M. GOMBA; A. G. GONZÁLEZ; R. GRATTON

Seattle, EE.UU

Conferencia; 7th Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics APS; 2004

American Physical Society

We experimentally study the spreading of a small volume of silicon oil down a vertical plane with small Bond number. The initial condition is characterized by a horizontal long fluid strip with cross sectional area A and width w_0. We find that the instability is characterized by a unique non dimensional parameter, R~ w_0^4/(a^2 A), where a is the capillary length. An empirical criterium to estimate the onset of the contact line instability is established. The later rivulet formation at the contact line leads to a pattern which is characterized by a dominant wavelength. We find that this wavelength is approximately proportional to R^{-1/4}.