Tadashi Onoguchi, Masayoshi Murakami and Osamu Sano
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183, Japan
(Received March 14, 1995; Accepted April 8, 1995)
Keywords: Equilibrium Shape, Rotating Drop, Surface Tension, LDV Measurement, Coriolis Force
Abstract. A laser Doppler measurement was made on the velocity field of an almost neutrally buoyant rotating drop, which was suspended in a viscous fluid. An external torque was applied by rotating a rigid rod touching the drop, the angular velocity and angular acceleration of which were specified by a computer controlled motor. The drop shape and the velocity field inside the drop showed deviations from those of the rigid-body rotation as the rotation rate was increased. The critical angular velocity at the transition of the drop shape from spheroidal to two-lobed or pear-shaped one was measured.