The lift force on a spherical body in a rotational flow

Abstract

This paper concerns the flow about a sphere placed in a weak shear flow of an inviscid fluid. The secondary velocity resulting from advection of vorticity by the irrotational component of the flow is computed on the sphere surface, and on the upstream axis. The resulting lift force on the sphere is evaluated, and the result is confirmed by an analytical far-field calculation. The displacement of the stagnation streamline, far upstream of the sphere, is calculated more accurately than in previous papers.