Free surface instability in a confined suspension jet

Abstract

A jet of non-Brownian particles confined in a thin cell and driven by gravitational force is studied both numerically and theoretically. We present a theoretical scheme aimed to describe such a system in the Stokes regime. We focus on the dynamics of the interface between the suspension and the pure fluid. Numerical simulations solving Newton's equations for all particles show that the jet free surface becomes unstable: the fastest growing modes at small sizes coarsen up to the largest structures reaching the jet lateral scale. In the bulk, structural waves develop and travel at slightly slower speed than the jet average fall. An analytical model, based on hydrodynamic-like equations for the suspension, is derived and predicts the development of the interfacial instability. It captures in essence, the collective effects driving the interface destabilization i.e. the long range hydrodynamic interactions coupled with the abrupt interface, and no analogous to a surface tension is found.