Iterated Stretching of Viscoelastic Jets

We examine, with asymptotic analysis and numerical simulation, the iterated stretching dynamics of FENE and Oldroyd-B jets of initial radius r(sub 0), shear viscosity nu, Weissenberg number We, retardation number S, and capillary number Ca. The usual Rayleigh instability stretches the local uniaxial extensional flow region near a minimum in jet radius into a primary filament of radius [Ca(1 - S)/ We](sup 1/2)r(sub 0) between two beads. The strain-rate within the filament remains constant while its radius (elastic stress) decreases (increases) exponentially in time with a long elastic relaxation time 3We(r(sup 2, sub 0)/nu). Instabilities convected from the bead relieve the tension at the necks during this slow elastic drainage and trigger a filament recoil. Secondary filaments then form at the necks from the resulting stretching. This iterated stretching is predicted to occur successively to generate high-generation filaments of radius r(sub n), (r(sub n)/r(sub 0)) = square root of 2[r(sub n-1)/r(sub 0)](sup 3/2) until finite-extensibility effects set in.