The razor-thin disk approximation uses vertically integrated pressure and surface density of a disk. To close the printed equations, interpret the barotropic equation of state as , or supply an equivalent fixed vertical conversion from the printed to . Without that conversion, the literal does not close this two-dimensional system. Set , and write , , . Axisymmetric flow here means , so background advection vanishes. The background shear enters through . The complete linearized equations are
These are the compressible Keplerian shearing sheet equations for an inertial-acoustic wave. No perturbed self-gravity is present in the given force law, so no gravitational potential perturbation is to be added. This closure is the barotropic closure of a razor-thin disk.
The pressureless dust fluid in a shearing sheet has no pressure restoration and is driven by drag force toward the prescribed gas velocity; gas backreaction is omitted in the given model. After linearizing about the common background shear, axisymmetry gives
Apply to the first equation and use the second to eliminate . The exact linear scalar equation is
For the supplied leading-order epicycle, set . Since and , this becomes
The final cosine term is missing from the printed equation. Dropping it is justified at leading order in , recovering the intended forcing, but the printed equation retains an order- frequency term on the left and is not an exact derivation at that order. A direct countercheck is : the drag vanishes and the pair solves both dust equations exactly, while leaves residual in the printed scalar equation. This is the forced dust epicycle with aerodynamic drag; its damping time is .
Take positive downwards. The leading axial velocity of a slender viscous thread is independent of radius. Incompressible flow then gives , while steady mass conservation gives . The Newtonian fluid stress tensor has and . The Young–Laplace equation, neglecting axial curvature at slender order, gives and hence .
The axial cut transmits both the integrated Newtonian fluid stress tensor and the circumferential surface tension. After subtracting the ambient pressure, its tensile force is
The coefficient three is the Trouton ratio for axial extension. The last term is essential: the capillary tensile force of a slender thread is , not , because the capillary pressure subtracts half the interfacial line contribution. Axial force balance is . Together the governing equations are
Define the dimensionless variables
Then and the axial equation becomes
For the increasing power-law branch, all three terms have the same dependence when . Substitution leaves . Thus
This remains valid at , when . The other root is negative and describes a decreasing local branch up to its singular endpoint, not a thread accelerating downwards indefinitely. Positive surface tension decreases , so it slows the fall at a given height on this branch. Thinning reduces the capillary tensile force . Its negative axial derivative supplies an upward capillary force on a thread segment, balancing part of the weight. The viscous tensile force therefore supplies a smaller remaining balance; on the quadratic family this reduces the stretching rate.
The condition alone does not select a unique solution of this second-order ordinary differential equation. The boxed power law is the requested verified branch, with tensile force tending to zero at large height; an additional nozzle tension or downstream condition is required to select it physically. The slender, negligible-inertia approximation must remain valid over the height range considered.
Write , , , and . Incompressible flow with axial strain rate gives
Its radial Stokes equation gives , because . The radial Newtonian fluid stress tensor component is . The outer and inner Young–Laplace equation conditions have opposite curvature signs:
Subtracting and eliminating gives
In particular, the boxed pressure is equivalent to the printed identity for . For equal gas pressures, , so surface tension draws both interfaces inward in addition to the imposed extension.
The kinematic boundary condition is at either interface. Taking the difference, and then the difference of squared radii, gives
The cancellation of in the area equation is mass conservation: axial stretching reduces the liquid area while radial redistribution changes the hole size. For , equal pressures, and , , one has and . Since ,
Closure occurs at , so
This capillary collapse of an annular viscous cylinder has finite closure time for and . For it does not close in this case. The annular formula is used only up to closure; the singular cylindrical inner curvature is not a boundary condition on the subsequent solid cylinder.
Use , , , and . Locally replace in the preceding annular viscous extension calculation by . Its leading pressure is
The axial liquid stress relative to ambient pressure, together with the two circumferential surface tension forces, transmits a cut force
It would be incorrect simply to differentiate this and retain an extra gas-pressure term. The sloping inner gas interface also exerts an axial pressure force per unit height, after subtracting the common ambient pressure contribution. For constant gas pressures these terms cancel. The resulting capillary tensile force of a hollow slender thread therefore gives
Thus the printed axial equation holds even for unequal constant gas pressures; their influence remains in the radial evolution.
For equal pressures, the kinematic boundary condition from the previous calculation becomes . Multiplying by the appropriate integrating factor gives
At closure , so and . Hence
The right side is positive for a genuine annulus. On the gravity-driven quadratic family from the previous part, grows linearly with height and this integral diverges logarithmically. It must then reach the finite positive threshold at a finite height. This explains the expected capillary closure of a falling hollow thread on that freely falling branch without requiring its full coupled profile.
There is a real boundary-data limitation to that expectation. Neither the printed nozzle speed nor the local equations alone guarantee finite closure for every imposed nozzle tension. To see this within the same leading model, define , so . For equal pressures and , both radii decrease and . If
then a bootstrap gives and : the maximum accumulated weight is smaller than the assumed tension margin. Consequently the closure integral, including its prefactor, is at most . If this is smaller than , closure never occurs at finite height. For example, in consistent units choose , , , , . Then , the weight bound is , and . Small makes the initial geometry slender. Thus finite closure is the expected freely falling branch behaviour, not a theorem following from nozzle speed alone. If there is no capillary closure by this mechanism.
First supply the introductory scaling and geometry. The leading tangential Stokes equation in a thin gap balances against . The shear stress scale is , so lubrication pressure dominates shear stress:
The outer circle, viewed along a ray from the inner centre, satisfies . Expanding its positive root to first order in gives , hence .
Take positive to mean increasing , and put , , . With no-slip boundary conditions at , lubrication theory gives
Steady mass conservation makes independent of . Single-valued pressure requires . Write and . It follows that
The tangential fluid tractions on the inner and outer solids, measured in the same increasing- direction, are respectively
This sign convention distinguishes the traction on a wall from the corresponding stress component in the fluid.
To leading order the holding force balances the pressure traction on the inner circle. Integration by parts gives
Use and , with the continuous limit at . Substituting the boxed flux yields
The zero vertical component also follows from reflection in mathematics in the vertical line: this leaves the geometry and vertical force unchanged, reverses , and Linearity of Stokes flow then requires .
Pressure gives no moment about either circular wall's own centre. Integrating the viscous shear torque with lever arm to leading order gives the fluid couples
Indeed and at this order. Applied holding or driving couples are the negatives of these fluid couples. They need not cancel because they are moments about different axes. The fluid force on the outer solid equals the holding force on the inner one. Transferring its moment to the inner axis adds , so angular momentum balance about a common axis is
For the usual equal and opposite concentric couples are recovered. All these formulas are leading thin-gap expressions at fixed ; taking the contact limit requires maintaining the local slender-gap assumptions.
This is a squeezing motion, not the rotational motion of the previous part. The gap changes at rate . The Reynolds lubrication equation therefore gives
The outer wall also has tangential speed , but its local Couette flow flux is compared with the squeezing flux and does not affect the leading force. Thus at leading order. Periodic pressure gives , because the integral of vanishes over a full circle. Balancing pressure traction on the fixed inner cylinder and using integration by parts,
The supplied integral gives the squeeze resistance of an eccentric journal bearing:
The fluid tends to pull the inner cylinder upwards with the moving outer wall, so a downward holding force is required when . At concentricity the translation resistance is . The omitted wall-tangential flux and shear traction give smaller thin-gap contributions.
Put the fixed outer centre at the origin, and let the moving inner centre be . This reverses the sign of the vertical offset used in the previous parts: now . At concentricity rotation produces no force and translation has isotropic resistance . Balancing the external load gives
There is no inertial acceleration in this Stokes flow model; velocity is determined instantaneously by force balance.
For the subsequent motion, the full-film journal bearing assumption matters: pressure is single-valued around the whole annulus, with no specified cavitation boundary. Let , , , and be its radial and tangential unit vectors. The squeeze resistance of an eccentric journal bearing has radial and tangential coefficients
For completeness, rotate coordinates until points along , so . Radial translation gives squeezing flux and resistance proportional to . Tangential translation gives ; the constant enforces periodic pressure. Its resistance uses
These expressions supply both translation directions; retaining only the vertical squeezing formula would miss the moving axle's horizontal dynamics.
The rotational fluid force from the earlier calculation points along , with magnitude . Superposing rotation and translation by Linearity of Stokes flow, and resolving the load, gives
For positive the axle initially moves down, then to the right because the rotation-generated force is perpendicular to the downward eccentricity. The equilibrium is displaced horizontally to the right, at the same height as the outer axis. Its eccentricity is the unique solution
The rotational force then points upwards and balances the load. For negative the displacement is to the left, using in the magnitude equation. Uniqueness follows because the logarithmic derivative of has positive numerator after a common positive denominator. If and , no separated static equilibrium exists in this ideal model. If , concentricity remains a solution.
One should not assert that this full-film model necessarily settles to the equilibrium. It predicts full-film journal-bearing whirl. For , eliminate time from the two boxed evolution equations and put . The orbit starting at concentricity obeys
so, with its zero initial horizontal displacement,
The orbit begins on the lower branch, turns at before contact, and returns along the upper branch, forming a closed orbit through concentricity. The ratio of the right-hand side to increases from zero to infinity, giving a unique turning eccentricity below one. Linearizing at equilibrium likewise gives and with : the eigenvalues are imaginary, not damped. Thus the equilibrium position exists, but the initially concentric axle circulates around it in the stated ideal full-film approximation. Cavitation or additional mechanical constraints would change the model; none were specified.
The normalized centre trajectory below illustrates the full-film prediction for . The dashed circle is the contact locus of the axle centre, not either cylinder wall.