Abstract
A uniform liquid film on a horizontal flat plate may be unstable to small disturbances when an air stream flows over the liquid surface. The stability of such films is examined for cases where the film is contaminated by an insoluble surface-active agent.Two approximate analyses are given, which are applicable to liquid films at moderately large Reynolds numbers and at fairly small Reynolds numbers, respectively. These supplement previous work on uncontaminated films by Miles (1960), Cohen & Hanratty (1965) and Craik (1966).At large liquid Reynolds numbers, the presence of surface contamination enhances stability due to increased dissipation in the viscous layer just within the liquid surface; but, at small liquid Reynolds numbers, there exists a class of disturbances for which surface elasticity may be destabilizing.
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