Maximum stable length of nonisothermal liquid bridges

Abstract

The maximum stable length of nonisothermal liquid bridges is predicted through a series of numerical computations. The results show that the maximum length of the bridges is less than the Rayleigh limit determined by the isothermal capillary stability analysis. It is enhanced by increasing the strength of the thermocapillary convection, while it is reduced for higher percentage change of surface-tension force or stronger buoyancy-driven convection. For the cases of small parameters, the predictions are in qualitative and quantitative agreement with the previous asymptotic results.