Simulating the interaction between a falling super-quadric object and a soap film

Abstract

The interaction that occurs between a light solid object and a horizontal soap film of a bamboo foam contained in a cylindrical tube is simulated in 3D. We vary the shape of the falling object from a sphere to a cube by changing a single shape parameter as well as varying the initial orientation and position of the object. We investigate in detail how the soap film deforms in all these cases, and determine the network and pressure forces that a foam exerts on a falling object, due to surface tension and bubble pressure respectively. We show that a cubic particle in a particular orientation experiences the largest drag force, and that this orientation is also the most likely outcome of dropping a cube from an arbitrary orientation through a bamboo foam.