Role of viscosity stratification in the stability of two-layer flow down an incline

Abstract

The stability of the flow of two layers of viscous liquids down an incline is investigated. The problem is governed by two competing long-wavelength modes associated with the surfaces. One mode, calling it the first mode, is faster than the second one. When the two layers have the same coefficient of dynamic viscosity, the second mode was found earlier by the author to be the governing mode for most cases. The situation is greatly altered when viscosity is not the same for the two layers. The second mode is dramatically stabilized for the range of viscosity ratio, m, less than unity, and the first mode is now generally the governing mode in that range. The overall effect is stabilizing compared with m = 1.A relative stability index is also introduced to compare the result with that of the homogeneous case. It is found that the presence of the upper layer is generally destabilizing compared with that of a homogeneous fluid of the same total depth.