Are you sure you want to leave this community? Leaving the community will revoke any permissions you have been granted in this community.
Heavy particles sink straight in water, while buoyant bubbles and spheres may zigzag or spiral as they rise. The precise conditions that trigger such path-instabilities are still not completely understood. For a buoyant rising sphere, two parameters are believed to govern the development of unsteady dynamics: the particle's density relative to the fluid, and its Galileo number. Consequently, with these parameters specified, the opportunities for variation in particle dynamics appear limited. In contrast to this picture, here we demonstrate that vigorous path-oscillations can be triggered by modulating a spherical particle's moment of inertia (MoI). For a buoyant sphere rising in a turbulent flow, MoI reduction triggers a tumble-flutter transition, while in quiescent liquid, it induces a modification of the sphere wake resulting in large-amplitude path-oscillations. The present finding opens the door for control of particle path- and wake-instabilities, with potential for enhanced mixing and heat transfer in particle-laden and dispersed multiphase environments.
Pubmed ID: 29728557
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
Multi paradigm numerical computing environment and fourth generation programming language developed by MathWorks. Allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages, including C, C++, Java, Fortran and Python. Used to explore and visualize ideas and collaborate across disciplines including signal and image processing, communications, control systems, and computational finance.
View all literature mentions