Experimental study on the entry of solid spheres into Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the entry of hydrophobic/hydrophilic spheres into Newtonian and Boger fluids. By considering solution of 82% glycerin and 18% water and solution of 80% glycerin, 20% water and 100 ppm polyacrylamide, Newtonian and Boger fluids are made, respectively. It has been tried that liquids' surface tension, density, and viscosity are almost the same. Thus, all dimensionless numbers are approximately the same at a similar impact velocity except for the elasticity number. A PcoDimaxS highspeed camera captures the spheres' trajectory from the impact to the end of the path. Regarding the range of released height (0.5–100 cm), the impact velocities are approximately in the range of 0.31–4.43 ms−1. The role of fluid elasticity in combination with the sphere surface wettability on the air cavity formation/evolution/collapse is mainly studied. Also, the kinetics of the sphere motion (velocity, acceleration, and hydrodynamic force coefficient) is studied. The results show that air drawn due to the sphere's impact with the Newtonian liquid is more, and the pinch-off takes place later. Also, shedding bubbles are cusped-shaped in the Boger fluid, while in the Newtonian fluid, they are elliptical. In addition, the most significant impact of surface wettability is observed in the Newtonian fluid. Finally, the results reveal that the sphere in the Newtonian fluid can move faster and travel a longer distance in a specific time interval. The differences observed are closely related to the viscoelastic fluid's elasticity property and extensional viscosity.