Abstract

In this talk, we focus on the steady orientation of rigid bodies falling in Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids. It is well known that a long, rigid body such as a cylinder or a prolate spheroid sedimenting in a Newtonian fluid will orient itself with its major axis perpendicular to the direction of gravity, in its steady state. However, in a viscoelastic fluid, these eventually becomes parallel. Remarkably, in polymer solutions of certain concentrations, the major axis is found to settle at an angle between the horizontal and vertical. We formulate a mathematical theory that attempts to explain these phenomena using different fluid models, Newtonian and non-Newtonian, at low Reynolds and Weissenberg numbers. The talk will highlight some mathematical results pertaining to the formulation, well-posedness and steady state behavior of the above mentioned problem.

TUESDAY, January 25, 2005
Time: 1:30 P.M.
Location: DH 4304