PHYSICAL JOURNAL E A thin-¯lm equation for viscoelastic liquids of Je®reys type

Abstract. We derive a novel thin-¯lm equation for linear viscoelastic media describable by generalized Maxwell or Je®reys models. As a ¯rst application of this equation we discuss the shape of a liquid rim near a dewetting front. Although the dynamics of the liquid is equivalent to that of a phenomenological model recently proposed by Herminghaus et al. (S. Herminghaus, R. Seemann, K. Jacobs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 056101 (2002)), the liquid rim pro¯le in our model always shows oscillatory behaviour, contrary to that obtained in the former. This di®erence in behaviour is attributed to a di®erent treatment of slip in both models. PACS. 83.60.Bc Linear viscoelasticity { 47.50.+d Non-Newtonian °uid °ows { 68.15.+e Liquid thin ¯lms