Volume 34, pp. 119-124, 2008-2009.

Numerical study of a descending sphere in a low Reynolds number strongly stratified fluid

Carlos R. Torres, Dany De Cecchis, Germán Larrazábal, and José Castillo

Abstract

The flow generated by a sphere descending uniformly in a linearly stratified diffusive fluid is investigated numerically for different Reynolds ($Re$) and Froude ($F$) numbers. The parameters used for the simulations were ${10}^{-1}\le Re\le 10$ and ${10}^{-2}\le F\le {10}^2$, keeping the Schmidt number, $Sc$ ($=700$, typical of sea water) fixed. The results demonstrate drag dependence on viscosity and stratification, suggesting that changes in these parameters would be intimately related to the phenomena of zooplankton vertical movement in the ocean.

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Key words

stratified fluid, flow past sphere, low Reynolds number, MAC method, preconditioning, Krylov methods.

AMS subject classifications

35Q30, 35Q35, 35K15, 35K20