The viscous catenary revisited: experiments and theory

Abstract

Detailed observations have been performed on the evolution of a viscous catenary, a rope of high-viscosity fluid suspended from two points falling under gravity. Stroboscopic imaging techniques are used to obtain the position and shape of the strand as a function of time. Depending on their initial thickness and profile, the filaments are observed to evolve into either a quasi-catenary, or other, more complex shapes. A conceptually simple, energy-based theory is developed and compared with observations. It is shown to describe reasonably, except for a scaling in the time scale, the catenary-like regime.