Convective thermocapillary instabilities in liquid bridges

Abstract

An axisymmetric liquid bridge is surrounded by a passive gas. A steady shear flow is set up by imposing a temperature gradient along the bridge and driving the motion by thermocapillarity. This dynamic state is susceptible to convective instabilities that lead to propagating hydrothermal waves that feed on the underlying temperature gradients. The convective instabilities of this axisymmetric return-flow state are presented as functions of the Prandtl number of the liquid and the surface Biot number of the interface. Comparisons are made with the results of Smith and Davis for planar layers and with available experimental data.