The effect of Reynolds number on the dynamics and wakes of freely rising and falling spheres

In this paper, we study the effect of the Reynolds number (Re) on the dynamics and vortex formation modes of spheres rising or falling freely through a fluid (where Re = 100–15000). Since the oscillation of freely falling spheres was first reported by Newton (University of California Press, 3rd edn, 1726, translated in 1999), the fundamental question of whether a sphere will vibrate, as it rises or falls, has been the subject of a number of investigations, and it is clear that the mass ratio m* (defined as the relative density of the sphere compared to the fluid) is an important parameter to define when vibration occurs. Although all rising spheres (m* < 1) were previously found to oscillate, either chaotically or in a periodic zigzag motion or even to follow helical trajectories, there is no consensus regarding precise values of the mass ratio (m*crit) separating vibrating and rectilinear regimes. There is also a large scatter in measurements of sphere drag in both the vibrating and rectilinear regimes. In our experiments, we employ spheres with 133 combinations of m* and Re, to provide a comprehensive study of the sphere dynamics and vortex wakes occurring over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. We find that falling spheres (m* > 1) always move without vibration. However, in contrast with previous studies, we discover that a whole regime of buoyant spheres rise through a fluid without vibration. It is only when one passes below a critical value of the mass ratio, that the sphere suddenly begins to vibrate periodically and vigorously in a zigzag trajectory within a vertical plane. The critical mass is nearly constant over two ranges of Reynolds number (m*crit ≈ 0.4 for Re = 260–1550 and m*crit ≈ 0.6 for Re > 1550). We do not observe helical or spiral trajectories, or indeed chaotic types of trajectory, unless the experiments are conducted in disturbed background fluid. The wakes for spheres moving rectilinearly are comparable with wakes of non-vibrating spheres. We find that these wakes comprise single-sided and double-sided periodic sequences of vortex rings, which we define as the ‘R’ and ‘2R’ modes. However, in the zigzag regime, we discover a new ‘4R’ mode, in which four vortex rings are created per cycle of oscillation. We find a number of changes to occur at a Reynolds number of 1550, and we suggest the possibility of a resonance between the shear layer instability and the vortex shedding (loop) instability. From this study, ensuring minimal backgrou