arXiv subjects

S. I. Betelu

Publications and source records attributed to S. I. Betelu.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2005

Singularities on charged viscous droplets

We study the evolution of charged droplets of a conducting viscous liquid. The flow is driven by electrostatic repulsion and capillarity. These droplets are known to be linearly unstable when the electric charge is above the Rayleigh critical value. Here we investigate the nonlinear evolution that develops after the linear regime. Using a boundary elements method, we find that a perturbed sphere with critical charge evolves into a fusiform shape with conical tips at time $t_0$, and that the velocity at the tips blows up as $(t_0-t)^α$, with $α$ close to -1/2. In the neighborhood of the singularity, the shape of the surface is self-similar, and the asymptotic angle of the tips is smaller than the opening angle in Taylor cones.

math-ph↗

arXiv2004

Capillarity driven spreading of circular drops of shear-thinning fluid

We investigate the spreading of thin, circular liquid drops of power-law rheology. We derive the equation of motion using the thin film approximation, construct source-type similarity solutions and compute the spreading rate, aparent contact angles and height profiles. In contrast with the spreading of newtonian liquids, the contact line paradox does not arise for shear thinning fluids.

math-ph↗

arXiv2003

Analysis of the self-similar spreading of power law fluids

We consider the equation that models the spreading of thin liquid films of power-law rheology. In particular, we analyze the existence and uniqueness of source-type self-similar solutions in planar and circular symmetries. We find that for shear-thinning fluids there exist a family of such solutions representing both finite and zero contact angle drops and that the solutions with zero contact angle are unique. We also prove the existence of traveling waves in one space dimension and classify them.

math-ph↗

arXiv2001

Going with the Flow: a Lagrangian approach to self-similar dynamics and its consequences

We present a systematic computational approach to the study of self-similar dynamics. The approach, through the use of what can be thought of as a ``dynamic pinning condition" factors out self-similarity, and yields a transformed, non-local evolution equation. The approach, which is capable of treating both first and second kind self-similar solutions, yields as a byproduct the self-similarity exponents of the original dynamics. We illustrate the approach through the porous medium equation, showing how both the Barenblatt (first kind) and the Graveleau (second kind) self-similar solutions arise in this framework. We also discuss certain implications of the dynamics of the transformed equation (which we will name "MN-dynamics"); in particular we discuss the discrete-time implementation of the approach, and connections with time-stepper based methods for the "coarse" integration/bifurcation analysis of microscopic simulators.

nlin.AO↗

arXiv1999

Renormalization study of two-dimensional convergent solutions of the porous medium equation

In the focusing problem we study a solution of the porous medium equation $u_t=Δ(u^m)$ whose initial distribution is positive in the exterior of a closed non-circular two dimensional region, and zero inside. We implement a numerical scheme that renormalizes the solution each time that the average size of the empty region reduces by a half. The initial condition is a function with circular level sets distorted with a small sinusoidal perturbation of wave number $k\geq 3$. We find that for nonlinearity exponents m smaller than a critical value which depends on k, the solution tends to a self-similar regime, characterized by rounded polygonal interfaces and similarity exponents that depend on m and on the discrete rotational symmetry number k. For m greater than the critical value, the final form of the interface is circular.

patt-sol↗