Heavy Particle Motion in Rotational Vortices

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Avni, Orr, Kumar, Alok, Dagan, Yuval
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Avni, Orr
Kumar, Alok
Dagan, Yuval
author_facet Avni, Orr
Kumar, Alok
Dagan, Yuval
contents This study examines the motion of spherical inertial particles in a three-dimensional rotating cylindrical vortex - a simplified model of geophysical flow structures such as oceanic eddies. The analytical vortex formulation enables the isolation of the key mechanisms that govern particle transport in rotating flows. Using Lagrangian particle tracking simulations, we investigate the influence of drag, buoyancy, virtual mass, Coriolis, and Magnus lift forces across a range of particle sizes, densities, and vortex rotation rates. Results show that particle aggregation and periodic stability depend on both particle inertia and flow parameters. Rotational lift forces, though often neglected for spherical particles, become dominant at moderate particle Stokes numbers and introduce slow vertical oscillations in both particle position and spin. The balance of forces determines whether particles settle into stable periodic orbits or escape the vortex. Our analysis reveals unique equilibrium positions that exhibit bifurcations, with multiple or vanishing steady states depending on particle and flow characteristics. Our results demonstrate how particle aggregation and orbital stability stem from the complex coupling between rotational lift, Coriolis, drag, buoyancy, and virtual mass forces. This model may promote informed modeling of dispersed phase transport in marine flows and industrial mixing processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_09821
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Heavy Particle Motion in Rotational Vortices
Avni, Orr
Kumar, Alok
Dagan, Yuval
Fluid Dynamics
This study examines the motion of spherical inertial particles in a three-dimensional rotating cylindrical vortex - a simplified model of geophysical flow structures such as oceanic eddies. The analytical vortex formulation enables the isolation of the key mechanisms that govern particle transport in rotating flows. Using Lagrangian particle tracking simulations, we investigate the influence of drag, buoyancy, virtual mass, Coriolis, and Magnus lift forces across a range of particle sizes, densities, and vortex rotation rates. Results show that particle aggregation and periodic stability depend on both particle inertia and flow parameters. Rotational lift forces, though often neglected for spherical particles, become dominant at moderate particle Stokes numbers and introduce slow vertical oscillations in both particle position and spin. The balance of forces determines whether particles settle into stable periodic orbits or escape the vortex. Our analysis reveals unique equilibrium positions that exhibit bifurcations, with multiple or vanishing steady states depending on particle and flow characteristics. Our results demonstrate how particle aggregation and orbital stability stem from the complex coupling between rotational lift, Coriolis, drag, buoyancy, and virtual mass forces. This model may promote informed modeling of dispersed phase transport in marine flows and industrial mixing processes.
title Heavy Particle Motion in Rotational Vortices
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.09821