On the Non-Newtonian rheology of interfacial films for use in wave dissipation models

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Abstract
The air-sea interface is in general contaminated due to the presence of surfactants, such as those resulting from oil spills. Recently, a three-fluid model was developed for the dissipation of capillary-gravity waves, wherein the interfacial fluid was allowed to be a Newtonian layer of finite thickness. Realizing that oil spills can result in the formation of emulsions on the water surface, we perform simple experiments to investigate the rheology of such emulsions. In this preliminary report of our ongoing work, we present results which reveal that interfacial fluid films composed of such emulsions are likely to be non-Newtonian. Our aim is to generalize the three-fluid Newtonian model, by accounting for the complex rheology of interfacial fluid films. We plan to use appropriate rheological models for such non-Newtonian interfacial films in our future analyses on wave dissipation to obtain more accurate results.

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