Iterated stretching and multiple beads-on-a-string phenomena in dilute solutions of highly-extensible flexible polymers

Abstract

The dynamics of elastocapillary thinning in high molecular weight polymer solutions are re-examined using high-speed digital video microscopy. At long times, the evolution of the viscoelastic thread deviates from self-similar exponential decay and competition of elastic, capillary and inertial forces leads to the formation of a periodic array of beads connected by axially-uniform ligaments. This configuration is itself unstable and successive instabilities propagate from the necks connecting the beads and ligaments. This iterated process results in the development of multiple generations of beads in agreement with predictions of Chang et al. (1999), although experiments yield a different recursion relation between successive generations. At long times, finite extensibility truncates the iterated instability and axial translation of the bead arrays along the interconnecting threads leads to progressive coalescence before rupture of the fluid column.

arXiv commentSubmitted to Physics of Fluids. Contains 15 pages, including 6 figures and 1 table

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Polymeric filament thinning and breakup in microchannels
• Self-similar breakup of polymeric threads as described by the Oldroyd-B model
• Capillary Thinning of Elastic and Viscoelastic Threads: from Elastocapillarity to Phase Separation
• Discrete self-similarity in interfacial hydrodynamics and the formation of iterated structures
• Viscoelastic surface instabilities
• Drop Dynamics of Viscoelastic Filament
• Molecular configurations in a droplet detachment process of a complex liquid
• Nonlinear Dynamics of Coiling in Viscoelastic Jets
• Discrete self-similarity in the formation of satellites for viscous cavity break-up
• The folding motion of an axisymmetric jet of wormlike-micelles solution