The relation between surface charges and viscosity in interfacial stability influenced by a periodic electric force (Q1366345)

The author presents an analytical linear analysis of Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the interface between two viscous, non-conducting fluids under the influence of gravity and time-periodic electric forces. The upper and lower fluids that occupy the half-spaces are initially motionless, and the motion of two phases is resulted from a time-periodic vertical electric field. Investigations are limited by the assumption of small viscosity, two-dimensional disturbances, and by the incompressible fluid approximation. Heat conductivity effects are also neglected. Using standard technique of multiple scale expansions, the author obtains the distribution of the velocity, and the pressure and electric potentials in two phases. The zeroth-order equations are the Euler's hydrodynamic equations, which are employed together with the Mathieu equation for the interface displacement. To apply the stability criterion in the first-order approximation, the author uses the characteristic equation. Before proceeding with the general problem, the stability analysis is done in the case of a constant electric field. Then the stability conditions for time-periodic vertical electric field are derived using the Mors and Feshbach's approximate formula for the infinite Hill's determinant. Finally, the author presents numerical calculations of transition curves and shows that the surface charge density vanishes when the value of viscosities ratio approaches one.