Wrinkling dynamics accelerate due to sudden changes in boundary conditions.

Area of Science:

• Soft Matter Physics
• Fluid Dynamics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Filament wrinkling in viscous fluids is a common phenomenon with applications in various fields.
• Wrinkling dynamics typically involve initiation, development, and relaxation stages.
• Previous simulations showed a longer initiation phase than experimental observations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the discrepancy in the initiation phase of filament wrinkling dynamics between simulations and experiments.
• To identify factors influencing the duration of the wrinkling initiation stage.
• To analyze the impact of initial perturbations on wrinkling dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of linear and nonlinear simulations of filament wrinkling.
• Comparison with experimental data from Chopin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 088001 (2017)].
• Theoretical modeling to incorporate environmental perturbations.

Main Results:

• The initiation phase of wrinkling dynamics is significantly longer in simulations than in experiments.
• Sudden environmental changes introduce high-frequency perturbations that accelerate the initiation phase.
• This acceleration effect is universal under similar experimental conditions.

Conclusions:

• Environmental perturbations, beyond thermal fluctuations, play a crucial role in wrinkling dynamics.
• The proposed mechanism reconciles simulation results with experimental observations.
• Understanding initial perturbation effects is key to accurately modeling filament wrinkling.