Unidirectional flow of a thin rivulet on a vertical substrate subject to a prescribed uniform shear stress at its free surface

Wilson, S.K. (2005) Unidirectional flow of a thin rivulet on a vertical substrate subject to a prescribed uniform shear stress at its free surface. Physics of Fluids, 17 (10). ISSN 1070-6631 (https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2100987)

[thumbnail of strathprints002266]
Preview
Text. Filename: strathprints002266.pdf
Final Published Version

Download (157kB)| Preview

Abstract

We use the lubrication approximation to analyze the steady unidirectional flow of a thin rivulet on a vertical substrate subject to a prescribed uniform longitudinal shear stress at its free surface. In particular, we determine the quasisteady stability of a rivulet of prescribed flux, and calculate when it is energetically favorable for a rivulet to split into two narrower rivulets.