Pinchoff and satellite formation in surfactant covered viscous threads

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2002

Abstract

The breakup of viscoues liquid threads covered with insoluble surfactant is investigated here; partial differential equations governing the spatio-temporal evolution of the interface and surfactant concentrations are derived in the long wavelength approximation. These one-dimensional equations are solved numerically for various values of initial surfactant concentration, surfactant activity and the Schmidt number (a measure of the importance of momentum, i.e., kinematic viscosity, to surfactant diffusion). The presence of surfactant at the air-liquid interface gives rise to surface tension gradients and, in turn, to Marangoni stresses, that drastically affect the transient dynamics leading to jet breakup and satellite formation. Specifically, the size of the satellite formed during breakup decreases with increasing initial surfactant concentration and surfactant activity. The usual self-similar breakup dynamics found in the vicinity of the pinchoff location for jets without surfactant [Eggers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 3458 (1993)], however, are preserved even in the presence of surfactant; this is confirmed via numerical solutions of the initial boundary value problem. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Identifier

0036538636 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Physics of Fluids

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1449893

ISSN

10706631

First Page

1364

Last Page

1376

Issue

4

Volume

14

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