Swirling Fluid Reduces the Bounce of Partially Filled Containers

Certain spatial distributions of water inside partially filled containers can significantly reduce the bounce of the container. In experiments with containers filled to a volume fraction & phi;, we show that rotation offers control and high efficiency in setting such distributions and, consequently, in altering bounce markedly. High-speed imaging evidences the physics of the phenomenon and reveals a rich sequence of fluid -dynamics processes, which we translate into a model that captures our overall experimental findings.

Automated summary

Certain spatial distributions of water inside partially filled containers can significantly reduce the bounce of the container. Rotation provides control and high efficiency in setting such distributions, leading to a substantial alteration in bounce. High-speed imaging captures the fluid dynamics processes and a model is developed to summarize the experimental findings.