Pendent Steady Rivulets: From Lubrication to Bifurcation

Abstract

We consider the shape of the free surface of steady pendent rivulets beneath a planar substrate. We formulate the governing equations in terms of two closely related dynamical systems and use classical phase-plane techniques to develop the bifurcation structure of the problem. Our results explain why lubrication theory is unable to capture this bifurcation structure for pendent rivulets, although it is successful in the related problem of sessile rivulets.