The Influence of Heating and Cooling on the Stability of a Liquid Layer

Abstract

The influence of heat transfer on the stability of a liquid layer which flows down an inclined plane under the action of gravity is investigated taking variations in density, viscosity, thermal conductivity and surface tension with temperature into account. A perturbation method is used to obtain information regarding the stability for the case of small wave number and small temperature difference between the wall and free surface. The effect of heat transfer on the stability of a liquid layer is clarified in terms of the critical Reynolds number, neutral stability curve, phase velocity and amplification factor.