2026-09-19T06:50:47Zhttps://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/oai/requestoai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/21832026-05-14T13:58:13Zcom_1813_35col_1813_47
Pesavento, Umberto
2005-09-07T12:43:29Z
2005-09-07T12:43:29Z
2005-09-07T12:43:29Z
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/2183
6475818
We investigate the problem of falling paper by solving the two dimensional Navier-Stokes equations
subject to the motion of a free falling body at Reynolds numbers around 10^3, which is typical for
a leaf or business card falling in air, and experimentally, by using a quasi two dimensional set up
and high speed digital video at sufficient resolution to determine the instantaneous accelerations
and thus deduce the fluid forces.
We compare the measurements with the direct numerical solutions of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation
and, using inviscid theory as a guide, we decompose the fluid forces into contributions due to acceleration,
translation, and rotation of the plate.
The aerodynamic lift on a tumbling plate is found to be dominated by the product of linear and angular velocities
rather than velocity squared as appropriate for an airfoil. This coupling between translation and
rotation provides a mechanism for a brief elevation of center of mass near the cusp-like
turning points. The Navier-Stokes solutions further provides the missing quantity in the classical
theory of lift: the instantaneous circulation, and suggests a revised ODE model for the fluid forces.
Experimentally and numerically, we get access to different dynamics by exploring the phase diagram spanned by the
Reynolds number, the dimensionless moment of inertia, and the thickness to width ratio.
In agreement with previous experiments, we find fluttering (side to side oscillations), tumbling (end over end rotation),
and apparently chaotic motion.
We explore further the transition region between fluttering and tumbling using both direct
numerical solutions and the ODE model.
In particular, by increasing the non-dimensional moment of inertia in the direct numerical simulations,
we observe a wide transition region in which the cards flutter periodically but tumble once between
consecutive turning points. In this region, we also observe a divergence of the period of oscillation, with
the cards falling vertically for distances of up to 50 times the card width.
We analyze the transition between fluttering and tumbling in the ODE model and
find a heteroclinic bifurcation which leads to a logarithmic divergence of the period of
oscillation at the bifurcation point.
NSF, ONR, AFOSR, Packard Fundation
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insect flight, unsteady aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, dynamical systems
Unsteady aerodynamics of falling plates
dissertation or thesis
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Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Pesavento, Umberto
5893a6ea-7af3-41d7-abc6-04bcd26ab5df
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open.access
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<Abstract>We investigate the problem of falling paper by solving the two dimensional Navier-Stokes equations
subject to the motion of a free falling body at Reynolds numbers around 10^3, which is typical for
a leaf or business card falling in air, and experimentally, by using a quasi two dimensional set up
and high speed digital video at sufficient resolution to determine the instantaneous accelerations
and thus deduce the fluid forces.
We compare the measurements with the direct numerical solutions of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation
and, using inviscid theory as a guide, we decompose the fluid forces into contributions due to acceleration,
translation, and rotation of the plate.
The aerodynamic lift on a tumbling plate is found to be dominated by the product of linear and angular velocities
rather than velocity squared as appropriate for an airfoil. This coupling between translation and
rotation provides a mechanism for a brief elevation of center of mass near the cusp-like
turning points. The Navier-Stokes solutions further provides the missing quantity in the classical
theory of lift: the instantaneous circulation, and suggests a revised ODE model for the fluid forces.
Experimentally and numerically, we get access to different dynamics by exploring the phase diagram spanned by the
Reynolds number, the dimensionless moment of inertia, and the thickness to width ratio.
In agreement with previous experiments, we find fluttering (side to side oscillations), tumbling (end over end rotation),
and apparently chaotic motion.
We explore further the transition region between fluttering and tumbling using both direct
numerical solutions and the ODE model.
In particular, by increasing the non-dimensional moment of inertia in the direct numerical simulations,
we observe a wide transition region in which the cards flutter periodically but tumble once between
consecutive turning points. In this region, we also observe a divergence of the period of oscillation, with
the cards falling vertically for distances of up to 50 times the card width.
We analyze the transition between fluttering and tumbling in the ODE model and
find a heteroclinic bifurcation which leads to a logarithmic divergence of the period of
oscillation at the bifurcation point.</Abstract>
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