Experiments on the Buckling of Thin Fluid Layers Undergoing End-Compression

Abstract

This paper reports a series of experiments concerning the buckling of a slender fluid layer in a state of longitudinal compression. The experiments consist of floating a layer of highly viscous oil on a pool of water and, manually, compressing the layer from the side. Photographs of the buckled layer show conclusively that the buckling wavelength is largely insensitive to either the rate of compression or the viscosity of the fluid layer. The observations suggest that the buckling wavelength is actually a characteristic length scale (a property) of the fluid layer, in contrast with the buckling theory of purely viscous layers (Buckmaster, Nachman, and Ting, [7]) where the buckling wavelength remains to be determined randomly by initial disturbances.