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Main Authors: Shekhar, Chandra, Mirajkar, Harish, Zdybel, Piotr, Melikhov, Yevgen, Ekiel-Jezewska, Maria L.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15783
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author Shekhar, Chandra
Mirajkar, Harish
Zdybel, Piotr
Melikhov, Yevgen
Ekiel-Jezewska, Maria L.
author_facet Shekhar, Chandra
Mirajkar, Harish
Zdybel, Piotr
Melikhov, Yevgen
Ekiel-Jezewska, Maria L.
contents This work investigates experimentally and numerically the dynamics of rigid particles settling under gravity in a highly viscous fluid. We demonstrate that certain shapes: cones, crescent moons, arrowheads, and open flat rings reorient and approach a stationary configuration. We determine the mobility coefficients and the characteristic reorientation times. We find out that the two rotational-translational mobility coefficients have opposite signs. Therefore, based on the equations of motion for rigid bodies with two orthogonal planes of symmetry, theoretically derived by Joshi and Govindarajan, Phys. Rev. Lett., 134, 2025, 014002 and Ekiel-Jezewska and Wajnryb, J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 21, 2009, 204102, we conclude that the approached stationary configurations are stable. Owing to the similarity principle, our experimental findings apply to micro-objects in water-based solutions. The reorientation of sedimenting rigid particles of certain shapes to a stationary stable configuration in a relatively short time might be used for biological, medical, or industrial applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_15783
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Sedimenting rigid particles of certain shapes approach a stationary orientation
Shekhar, Chandra
Mirajkar, Harish
Zdybel, Piotr
Melikhov, Yevgen
Ekiel-Jezewska, Maria L.
Soft Condensed Matter
This work investigates experimentally and numerically the dynamics of rigid particles settling under gravity in a highly viscous fluid. We demonstrate that certain shapes: cones, crescent moons, arrowheads, and open flat rings reorient and approach a stationary configuration. We determine the mobility coefficients and the characteristic reorientation times. We find out that the two rotational-translational mobility coefficients have opposite signs. Therefore, based on the equations of motion for rigid bodies with two orthogonal planes of symmetry, theoretically derived by Joshi and Govindarajan, Phys. Rev. Lett., 134, 2025, 014002 and Ekiel-Jezewska and Wajnryb, J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 21, 2009, 204102, we conclude that the approached stationary configurations are stable. Owing to the similarity principle, our experimental findings apply to micro-objects in water-based solutions. The reorientation of sedimenting rigid particles of certain shapes to a stationary stable configuration in a relatively short time might be used for biological, medical, or industrial applications.
title Sedimenting rigid particles of certain shapes approach a stationary orientation
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15783