Fluid forces on a body in shear-flow; experimental use of ‘stationary flow'

Abstract

The lift and drag forces have been measured on a sphere and a transverse cylinder immersed in an open liquid shear-flow and situated close to the lower, frictional, boundary (the bed). Two conditions were investigated: ( a ) that of zero drag, when the body was drifting with the flow, and ( b ) that when it was held against the flow. In condition ( a ) the body could be either allowed to rotate about a transverse axis subject to unavoidable pivot friction, or prevented from rotating. Marked difference was found in the magnitude of the lift force according to the applied resistance to rotation. The lift force was a maximum when rotation was prevented and small or undetectable when free rotation was allowed. In the conditions ( a ) and ( b ) the lift force decreased with increasing clearance between body and boundary, to zero when the clearance exceeded approximately one body diameter. In condition ( b ) lift, i. e. normally repulsive, forces of approximately equal magnitudes to those below were exerted as the body approached the upper free liquid surface. In the drifting condition ( a ) the considerable difficulties of observation and force measurement when a body is moving with the flow were removed by the use of a backward-moving bed boundary. By thus superimposing a reverse velocity on the whole system, the mean fluid velocity at any desired distance from the boundary can be made zero relative to the observer without appreciably affecting the internal dynamics of the flow. This device also permitted the repetition of the measurements made by using liquids of greater viscosity than water available in limited quantities. The results are interpreted with an explanation in mind of certain aspects of the motions of unsuspended solids in saltation over a stream bed.