The flow created by a sphere moving along the axis of a rotating, slightly-viscous fluid

Abstract

The title flow has been studied by measuring the drag force on, and by observing the flow field around, a sphere rising through a large, rotating tank of water. Long, almost stagnant, regions are formed up- and downstream within the shadow of the sphere and are surrounded by a thin annular region within which the velocity is larger than the mean velocity of the approach flow. Several regions are found within which vortex-jump phenomena occur and it is concluded that such features exert a controlling influence over the dynamics of the observed flow field.