Self-similar spreading of a viscous oil slick

For external pressure $\Delta \rho gh$ and edge condition $h{\sigma }_{rr}=-\Delta \rho g{h}^2/2$, the fixed-volume similarity solution is a uniformly thick disc:Conservation of mass fixes the similarity velocity. The radial equation then forces a differentiable thickness profile to be constant, and the edge stress fixes that constant. The singular point-release solution describes the spreading scaling; a finite initial uniform disc corresponds to shifting time.