Modulation instability of electrohydrodynamic waves on liquid jet

An analytical study of slow modulation has been made of cylindrical interface between two inviscid streaming fluids, in the presence of a relaxation of electrical charges at the interface, and stressed by an axial electric field. A new technique based on the perturbation theory, to derive the non-linear evolution equations has been introduced. These equations are combined to yield a non-linear Ginzburg–Landau equation and a non-linear modified Schrödinger equation describing the evolution of wave packets. The linear analysis showed that the streaming has a destabilizing effect and the electric field has stabilizing influence associated with parameters condition involving the electric conductivity and permittivity of the fluids. While the non-linear approach indicated that the streaming may become unstable for sufficiently high velocities, with a new condition on the material properties, involving weak electric relaxation times in both fluids.