Particles falling in a rotating fluid Gerald L. Wick Institute of Marine Resources, University of California, Scrips Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093 ‘and Foundation for Oosan Ressarch, 11696-D Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, California 92121 (Received 15 March 1977; accepted 12 September 1977) Particles falling in a fuid rotating about a horizontal axis can go into quasistable orbits. An analytical solution of the particle's motion is derived. This model may be applicable to suspension of diatoms and other particles in the ocean. INTRODUCTION Laboratory centrifuges as discussed in a previous paper! are always oriented with a vertical axis of rotation. There are many naturally occurring rotating systems with similar orientations, such as tornadoes, maelstroms, dust devils, and the Indianapolis S00. Nature also provides circumstances where the axis of rotation is horizontal. These can occur in clear air turbulence, flow over rippled sand beds, and tur bulent eddies in the ocean, In this paper I deal theoretically with the interaction between particles and a fluid rotating about a horizontal axis. This problem is particularly per tinent to the suspension of diatoms and other microscopic plants on the ocean surface, to suspension of sediments and to the suspensions and distribution of pollutants. Ina pre vious paper? some experimental aspects of this problem were observed and analyzed. In the ease of diatoms, itis necessary that they maintain themselves near the ocean surf light vital for photosynthesis. However, many of them are denser than seawater and tend to sink to the bottom of a bucket of water when scooped from the ocean. Yet these organisms do exist and reproduce in abundance at some locations, so there must be some mechanism that maintains them near the surface. There are upwelling regions in the ‘ocean where the vertical currents are sufficiently strong in the upward direction, not only to maintain diatoms near the surface, but to bring nutrients vital to diatom growth from the deeper realms where the nutrient maxima occur. As diatoms are distributed over regions where upwelling is not present, there must be other mechanisms. Indeed, this analysis shows that particles denser than the surrounding fluid can maintain themselves in a rotating fluid cell for times much longer than would be inferred from their sinking rate in order to receive sun- SIMPLIFIED ANALYSIS In order to model a particle falling in a rotating cell, | assumed that the fluid was rotating about a horizontal axis asif it were a solid body. Thus the angular velocity is con- stant at all points within the cell. As demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally, this condition approxi- mates the velocity field near the center of an eddy. The linear velocity ofthe fluid within the cell must at some point be greater than the terminal velocity of the sinking particle or it will not be able to achieve a stable or quasistable orbit. The major forces on the particle are the forces of gravity and of buoyancy and the drag force exerted by the rotating fluid. In all of the cases considered, viscous drag, propor- 408 Am.J. Phys. 46, Apr. 1978 (0002-9505 /78/4604-0408500.50 tional to the first power of the velocity ofthe parti ative to the fluid, is a reasonable representation Fo ample, the Reynolds number of diatoms in the oe about 0.01 For the simplified analysis based on the major for equations in Cartesian coordinates, as shown in xdirection: — —a(i +rsind w) =0 y direction: — —a(i ~r cost w) = (p = pp) Vg =O) ~als + yw) =0, —ap = x2) — meirg = 0, where a = 6na assuming Stokes law for viscous Howl iment = (p ~ o7)V isthe effective mass under influent the fluid viscosity: a, p, and Vas the radius, density, and volume, respectively and 9 the fluid density; w is the fluid’s angular velocity and) the acceleration of gravity. These equations are €@ solved: x = K sinwt + meng [aw y = K cout, where meicg/a = vp, the terminal velocity of the pari The solution isa series of concentric circular orbits cele ‘v7/w and y = 0. The radius of the orbit K depet upon the initial conditions for the particle. This soluional applies for particles less dense than the fluid where. =rr/w and y = 0 would be the center of the orbit, The gular velocity of the orbit is the same as that of the rota Auid. Thus, according to these solutions, the particles wo g0 into stable circular orbits around a center where terminal velocity is equal to the upward velocity ofthe tating fluid. At first impression, itis rather amazingt particles denser than the fluid can go into stable orbs MORE COMPLETE SOLUTION ‘There are several perturbing forces and departures the situation as idealized in Eq. (1) In this section I ind some of these effects. Figure 2 shows al of the forces rotating sphere, assuming that there are no lift forces} some circumstances there would be a small lift force rected away from the fluid’s axis of rotation.* How Bagnold® found that there was negligible lft on a rota or a nonrotating sphere in laminar shear flow provi was not near a boundary. In order to preserve the simpli of the analysis, | have neglected lift Force as it introda {© 1978 American Association of Physics TeachersMajor orccson ballin rtatng Aud. Fy i the buoyancy force, gravitational force, and Fy isthe drag force. The dotted ciecle orbit, ies destroying the analytical solution. Neglecting is probably a reasonable assumption for a large mensional vortex with no boundary effects on the ple In some cases, the magnitude of the lift force may mparable to that of other perturbing forces considered ‘Ofcourse, Ihave neglected other effects too, such as ial forces ofthe fluid. An exact solution would re~ solving the Navier-Stokes equation with the proper y conditions on the particle. However, the simpler is presented here gives a good feeling for the inter- between the particle and the fluid centrifugal “buoyancy” force is due to the pressure nt ereated in the fluid by the rotation. This force is ced radially inward and is proportional to the distance the center ofthe cylinder. For the case of a sphere this cis Bea pVurr= =pVeral +H. ding the inertial terms mx and my which will provide the centrifugal force experienced by the particle in its orbit, the equations of motion are mi = —a(i + yw) — pyVo?x, mj = ~a()) — xw) ~ p/Va*y — Vip — ape ith ofthese new terms are of the order of 10~ of the other i for small particles in viscous flow. The solution to jse equations are derived in the Appendix and take the preral form: X= (Ke-A1 + K’el(1-2/ANe2) sinwt + vr/o, y= (Ke-4' + K'el1-P)/Ale*) cosut, ere A = a/m and B= pV/m = pl Several things are apparent. First, the center of the orbit sillocated at x = b7/u; y= 0. The frequency of orbital sPolation is the same as that of the eddy. These conditions iso apply for the simple analysis. However, in the more isticated analysis there are transient terms, The terms ieding e~*" decrease to zero in very short times and can fe neglected. This term corresponds to the time interval ured for the particle to reach terminal velocity which Sof the order of milliseconds fr the range of values pert there. The other term is more interesting, having three fstinct domains, For B = p/p = 1, the orbit is stable, circular, and cen- ed onthe axis of rotation. ‘Am. J. Phys., Vol 46, No.4, Apeil 1978 Fig. 2, Perturbation forces ona ball na rotating Mid. Fe isthe centri ugal force onthe ballin is own orbit. Fa is the centrifugal buoyancy force. The other forces are defined in Fig. 1- Lengths ofthe arrows are not necessarily a scale, For B > 1, the orbit decays to its center point and is again stable For B <1, the orbit expands indefinitely In the case of some small diatoms® B = 0.99 and the orbit should expand with a time constant of several hours. The horizontal eddies probably do not last this long, thus the Particles probably move from one eddy to another. This condition for B can be appreciated more intuitively by considering the perturbing forces on a particle in orbit and balancing them so that the orbit is stable. As seen in Fig. 3, the two perturbing forces are the centrifugal force which depends on the radius of the orbit and the centrifugal buoyancy force which depends upon the distance from the center of the eylinder. The condition of stability is that the sum of the forces at point O is equal in magnitude and op- positely directed to the sum of the forces at O” Vopotd + p¥sta = Vpyu? (d + 2a) — p¥wra which gives p/p = 1 for stability. This condition is identical to the one derived from the equations of motion. CONCLUSION Based on these equations, a small particle in a less dense, rotating fluid would eventually escape from the rotating cell, or eddy, but with a long time constant. In experiments based ona similar but more complicated analysis, we found that itis possible for particles ina less dense, rotating fluid to go into stable orbits. This behavior can be partly attributed to the experimental setup which was a rotating cylinder filled with viscous fluid (Karo syrup) supporting a falling nylon ball. The effects due to the walls of the cylinder and to the lift forces were responsible for the stable behavior of the Fig. 3. Perturbing forces on ball along the horizontal direction. Gerald L. Wicktoll, Although it may not be apfible tothe bean, et Particular configuration is important Fr many commercial Partita processes. Ii treated in detail in another POPy 2 chem Pegapied as a laboratory demonstration of (Re theory developed in this paper Sor ete es not have walls; thus studies ofthe De, ne sarrtcis in vertical eddies where the boundary havior of Phealigible could give valuable insight ot 9%) effects afar ofthe partiles, but also of the turbulence itll APPENDIX: SOLUTION OF THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION mi = —al e+ yo) — afar: mj = —a(p — xo) — 9/Vaty — Ve 08 ‘Substituting Bee ei umey sa ata a See m mp m S 4 and sing Das the derivative with respect to time, we Dix = -A(Dx + ya) ~ B pty = -A(Dy - xe) ~ Ba*y = C These two second-order differential equations ean Be re- duced to four first-order equations as follows: px-u=0. by -0=0. Dut Au+ Auy + Bu*x = 0. Do + Av — Awx + Buty = —C “The homogeneous solutions to these equations can Be Ob tained by solving the characteristic equation represented by the determinant Bike pee Lea fips thie But Aw A+A =Ao Bs 0 d+A Where the X’s are the exponents in solutions ofthe form x= Ke™ The solutions of the characteristic equation are ‘Am. J. Phys. Vol 46, No.4 April 1978 These solutions can be modified to the more useful wy {atta —apeny+ aay xeo[ smu In all cases of interest where the particle is small an rotation of the eddy is relatively slow, Bur < 4 Separating the real and imaginary parts of the get ves bey"( where r? = (A2— 42)? + 44e)?, Eliminatingal higher-order terms, these expressions reduce f0 dy =A tie, dz = [C1 — B)/Ale? +i The final solutions would be x= eT AIK elt + Kye fh) 4 ell MANS Kael + Kae en Ketel + Keer“) 66 0 AVALS (Kell + Rae where the nonhomogeneous solution has been add yonstants may be evaluated from boundary condita by substitution in the original equations. With appt approximations the solutions reduce to = (Ken at Kiel Bn/ 16%) sincat + Orla ym (Kemal + Krell BV A16) cosia 1G... Wiek and P. F Tooby, Am. J. Phys 48, 1074 (972 G1 Touty,G. L- Wick, and J.D. Tsaacs, J. Geophys Real (1977), ot rel Hydrodynamics, 6th ed. (Dover. New York: Wg pecan, EP. Gaspunek, and S; Eskinazi, Aeronaat 6G «iG. Setfinan J Fluid Mech. 22,385 (1965), SRA. Bagnold, Proc. Soe. Lond. A 340,147 (1974). ee pata, Oceanography Mar. Bil. Aan, Ret 353(8