Dynamics of a wet array of hinged plates*

We present the nonlinear dynamics of side-by-side elastically hinged plates carrying drops in three configurations: trapped at the base, pinned at the tips, and sliding. We first examine the equilibria and motion of a single pair, and find that the collapsed state depends not only on the liquid or structural properties but also on the initial conditions. Then we consider an array of parallel plates at unstable equilibrium, where a disturbance amplifies while traveling at a constant speed and leaves behind a pattern of clusters. We derive expressions of the propagation speed and mean bundle size that agree with numerical results.