Axisymmetric particle rotations in shear flow*

We experimentally investigate the rotational dynamics of a neutrally-buoyant axisymmetric particle in a viscous shearing flow.

A custom-built shearing cell and a multi-view shape reconstruction method are used to obtain direct measurement of the period and the angular phase of the Jeffery orbits (Jeffery, 1922).

We report good agreement with the data available in the literature (Trevelyan and Mason, 1951; Goldsmith and Mason, 1962) and we complement these data by measuring the period and the angular phase over an extended range of particle aspect ratios. In particular, we consider aspect ratios smaller than those previously reported, which exhibit rotation periods larger than expected by Trevelyan and Mason.