  Thin film rupture is a type of nonlinear instability that causes the solution
to touch down to zero at finite time. We investigate the finite-time rupture
behavior of a generalized elastohydrodynamic lubrication model. This model
features the interplay between destabilizing disjoining pressure and
stabilizing elastic bending pressure and surface tension. The governing
equation is a sixth-order nonlinear degenerate parabolic partial differential
equation parameterized by exponents in the mobility function and the disjoining
pressure, respectively. Asymptotic self-similar finite-time rupture solutions
governed by a sixth-order leading-order equation are analyzed. In the weak
elasticity limit, transient self-similar dynamics governed by a fourth-order
similarity equation are also identified.
