A particularly unstable film

Abstract

Analysis of the classic problem of shallow film flow on an inclined plane is revisited for a Brownian suspension. The particle phase, considered in a two-fluid model, is predicted to cause pronounced changes to the instability characteristics of the flow. These are due to an indirect effect of the non-Newtonian rheology, with the normal stresses causing migration and a viscosity stratification which strongly alters the base state from its Newtonian counterpart. Both the short- and long-wavelength inertial stability boundaries are altered, and, more strikingly, an instability at zero Reynolds number is found.