Design of an oscillating flow apparatus for the study of low Reynolds number particle dynamics

Abstract

An apparatus was designed and built to explore the effects of transient flow fluctuations on the dynamic behavior of particles in low Reynolds number (LRN) flows. While many experiments have been performed on LRN particle flows, relatively few have investigated periodic oscillations on the flow dynamics. The apparatus was oscillated at a frequency of 10 Hz with peak-to-peak displacements on the order of 10 mm. Particles of varying densities and diameters were placed into the oscillating flow. Video images of the particle dynamics were captured with both a personal video camcorder and high-speed digital camera. In parallel, computations were performed for the particle system in order to validate the experimental method and apparatus.