Liquid free boundary in vertical gap subject to modulated rotation

Abstract

The effect of rotation velocity modulation on the equilibrium shape of the liquid-air interface in a vertical slot gap rotating around a horizontal axis is studied experimentally. The case is considered when the modulation frequency coincides with the rotation frequency. It is found that in this case, velocity modulation leads to a violation of the axial symmetry of the interface formed by the centrifugal force of inertia. The displacement of the center of symmetry of the interface increases linearly with the amplitude of the velocity modulation and decreases quadratically with the speed of rotation. It is shown that the detected phenomenon is explained by the averaged effect of an external gravitational field on a fluid in a rotating frame of reference.