Stability analysis of a thinning electrified jet under nonisothermal conditions

The linear stability of a jet propagating under an electric field is analyzed under nonisothermal conditions. The electrified jet of a Newtonian fluid is modeled as a slender filament, and the leaky dielectric model is used to account for the Maxwell stresses within the fluid. The convective heat transfer from high-temperature jet to the surroundings results in formation of thicker fibers owing to increased viscosity upon cooling. The jet exhibiting substantial thinning under the action of tangential electric field is examined for stability toward axisymmetric nonperiodic disturbances. This is in contrast to most prior studies which analyzed the stability of a cylindrical jet of uniform radius without thinning under extensional flow by examining only periodic disturbances. Two case studies of reference fluids differing in viscosity and electrical properties are examined. The spectrum of discrete growth rates for axisymmetric disturbances reveal qualitatively distinct instabilities for the two fluids. For a fluid with high electrical conductivity, the conducting mode driven by the coupling of surface charges and an external electric field is found to be the dominant mode of instability. On the contrary, for low conductivity materials, the surface-tension-driven capillary mode is found to be the most critical mode. Heat transfer from the jet to the surroundings tends to stabilize both types of instability mode. Under sufficiently strong heat transfer, the axisymmetric instability, which is believed to be responsible for producing nanofibers with diametric oscillations in electrospinning process, is suppressed. The stabilization is attributed to the enhancement of viscous stress in the thinning jet upon cooling. It is observed that the stabilization effect is relatively more pronounced in a thinning jet compared to the cylindrical jet of uniform radius. The effects of various material and process parameters on the stability behavior is also examined.