Self-destabilizing loop observed in a jetting-to-dripping transition

It is well known that water slowly issued vertically downward exhibits a hysteresis phenomenon. A jetting-to-dripping transition appearing upon a stepwise decrease in jet issue speed was used to identify the origin of the Plateau–Rayleigh unstable wave elements which disintegrate the jetting liquid. In the present laboratory experiment using a stainless steel nozzle of inner radius 1 mm and length 30 mm, the transition occurred at a dimensionless jet issue speed of $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}\sqrt{\rho U^{2}a_{0} /\sigma } =0.8,$ where $\rho $ and $\sigma $ respectively denote the density and surface tension coefficient of the liquid issued at the speed $U$ from the nozzle of radius $a_0$. The jet length gradually shortened with an oscillation of considerably large amplitude and period. High-speed camera images show that this oscillation is caused by tip contraction capillary wave (TCCW) elements which are elongated by the gravitationally accelerating jet flow and become Plateau–Rayleigh unstable wave elements. The jet length increases while the jet tip experiences end-pinching and radiates TCCW elements upstream. Only those TCCW elements destabilized at appropriate locations can grow sufficiently to shorten the jet. Since the unstable wave elements produced nearer the nozzle exit have much smaller amplitude at the jet tip, the end-pinching becomes effective. Thus, these processes are repeatable and constitute a self-destabilizing loop. The observed jetting-to-dripping transition has nothing to do with the random nozzle disturbances which were believed to be the origin of the Plateau–Rayleigh unstable wave in conventional instability theories. It is also different from the feature conjectured from current absolute/convective instability analysis. The underling physics of the self-destabilizing loop are explored in detail by numerical simulations based on a one-dimensional model.