The dynamics of liquid films on rotating surfaces

Thin film flows on either the inner or outer surface of a rotating cylinder have many important industrial applications and have been the focus of much research. In this thesis existing models for thin low Reynolds number flows where gravitational effects are important are extended to incorporate the effects of surface tension and mass transfer to and from the film. Film flows with O(1) reduced Reynolds number are also considered with centrifugal and inertial effects introduced through a multiple scales analysis. Additionally, the linear stability of thin, uniform, rigidly rotating flows (where the effects of gravity are negligible) is analysed for all values of the Reynolds number, with the most unstable disturbance being identified where appropriate. (author)