摘要
We successfully perform the three-dimensional tracking in a turbulent fluid flow of small axisymmetrical particles that are neutrally-buoyant and bottom-heavy,i.e.,they have a non-homogeneous mass distribu-tion along their symmetry axis.We experimentally show how a tiny mass inhomogeneity can affect the particle orientation along the preferred vertical direction and modify its tumbling rate.The experiment is complemented by a series of simulations based on realistic Navier-Stokes turbulence and on a point-like particle model that is capable to explore the full range of parameter space characterized by the gravi-tational torque stability number and by the particle aspect ratio.We propose a theoretical perturbative prediction valid in the high bottom-heaviness regime that agrees well with the observed preferential ori-entation and tumbling rate of the particles.We also show that the heavy-tail shape of the probability distribution function of the tumbling rate is weakly affected by the bottom-heaviness of the particles.
基金
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 11988102)
