Experimental Analysis and Modeling of Drag Force: Investigating the Levitation of Spheres in Turbulent Jets

Abstract

This study investigates sphere levitation and cube instability in turbulent jet flows, examining object geometry, flow rates, and rotational effects. Spheres showed significant variations in hovering height with changing flow rates, ranging from 355.5 mm at 41.1 L/s to 92.5 mm at 28.0 L/s. Measurement errors spanned from 1.2% to 17.1%, highlighting challenges in predicting complex fluid-structure interactions. Rotational motion enhanced hovering heights through Magnus forces but increased instability. Cubes exhibited inherent instability due to sharp edges causing early boundary layer separation, resulting in a brief hovering period of 0.167 seconds. X-axis rotation at 0.2 seconds further reduced lift and accelerated descent. The findings emphasize the critical role of object geometry and rotational dynamics in levitation behavior within turbulent jet flows. Future research will focus on refining drag coefficient calculations, analyzing surface pressure distributions, and validating findings through CFD simulations. These efforts aim to enhance understanding of flow-structure interactions in high-turbulence environments, with potential applications in aerodynamics, industrial processes, and environmental studies.