Laminar flow structures from a rotating sphere: Effect of rotating axis angle

Abstract

A Fourier-Chebyshev spectral collocation method is used to compute the flow past a steadily rotating sphere subjected to a uniform cross flow. The simulations are performed at Reynolds numbers Re=100, 250 and 300, where the Reynolds number is based on freestream velocity and sphere diameter. These Reynolds numbers cover three different flow regimes for a stationary sphere, from steady axisymmetric, steady planar-symmetric to unsteady planar-symmetric. The effect of varying the rotation axis angle, α, on the laminar flow structures and time-averaged hydrodynamic forces is investigated over a range of non-dimensional rotation rates, Ω*. This study reveals the time-averaged flight path of a sol..