Falcon

Claudia Falcon, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

A Falling Sphere through Stratified Karo

Abstract: Settling rates of particles through stratified fluids affect many aspects of life, from air quality to distribution of biomass in the upper ocean. We study the behavior of a sphere falling through a two-layer stratification of miscible, viscous fluid. Motivated by the levitation and velocity reversal found in similar saltwater experiments, we have looked at the effect of the density interface, tank walls, and convection on the settling rate of the sphere.

This work was funded by:

NSF HRD-0450099
NSF RTG DMS-0502266
NSF DMS-0104329
NSF DMS-0509423
NSF DMS-0308687

Collaborator: Joyce Lin (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill),
Advisors: Roberto Camassa, Rich McLaughlin (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)