Surface tension-induced global instability of planar jets and wakes

• Published in: Journal of fluid mechanics 2012-12, Vol.713, p.632-658
• Main Authors: Tammisola, Outi, Lundell, Fredrik, Söderberg, L. Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: absolute/convective instability; Computational fluid dynamics; Exact sciences and technology; Flow velocity; Fluid dynamics; Fluid mechanics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Hydrodynamic stability; Inlets; Instability; interfacial flows (free surface); Jets; Numerical analysis; Physics; Reynolds number; Shear; Stability; Surface tension; Surface-tension-driven instability; Turbulent flows, convection, and heat transfer; Wakes; wakes/jets
• ISSN: 0022-1120; 1469-7645; 1469-7645
• DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2012.477

The effect of surface tension on global stability of co-flow jets and wakes at a moderate Reynolds number is studied. The linear temporal two-dimensional global modes are computed without approximations. All but one of the flow cases under study are globally stable without surface tension. It is found that surface tension can cause the flow to be globally unstable if the inlet shear (or, equivalently, the inlet velocity ratio) is strong enough. For even stronger surface tension, the flow is restabilized. As long as there is no change of the most unstable mode, increasing surface tension decreases the oscillation frequency. Short waves appear in the high-shear region close to the nozzle, and their wavelength increases with increasing surface tension. The critical shear (the weakest inlet shear at which a global instability is found) gives rise to antisymmetric disturbances for the wakes and symmetric disturbances for the jets. However, at stronger shear, the opposite symmetry can be the most unstable one, in particular for wakes at high surface tension. The results show strong effects of surface tension that should be possible to reproduce experimentally as well as numerically.