SOLITARY WAVE DYNAMICS OF FILM FLOWS

The development and interaction of solitary wave pulses is critical to understanding wavy film flows on an inclined (or vertical) surface, Sufficiently far downstream, the wave structure consists of a generally irregular sequence of solitary waves independent of the conditions at the inlet. The velocity of periodic solitary waves is found to depend on their frequency and amplitude. Larger pulses travel faster; this property, plus a strong inelasticity, causes larger pulses to absorb others during interactions, leaving a nearly flat interface behind. These wave interactions lead to the production of solitary wave trains from periodic small amplitude waves. The spacings between solitary waves can be irregular for several different reasons, including the amplification of ambient noise, and the interaction process itself. On the other hand, this irregularity is suppressed by the addition of periodic forcing.