Capillary-gravity waves on a liquid film of arbitrary depth: analysis of the wave resistance

We discuss the wave resistance in the case of an externally perturbed viscous liquid film of arbitrary thickness. Emphasis is placed on the dependence of the wave resistance on the film thickness H, the length scale b characterizing the external perturbation, and its velocity V. In particular, the effectiveness of the mechanisms of capillary-gravity waves and the viscous dissipation localized in the vicinity of the perturbation are compared and discussed as functions of H and V. We show that, in general, the wave resistance is a nonmonotonous function of H with a maximum whose amplitude and position depend on b and V. In the case of small H the wave resistance depends on a parameter S proportional V/H(3). We find three different regimes of this parameter in which the wave resistance behaves like S(r) with the exponent r equal to 1, 1/3, and -1. These results are also obtained independently within the thin liquid film approximation. This allows us to assess the range of validity of the thin liquid film approximation in various cases, in particular its dependence on the perturbation length scale b.