Bouncing of a projectile impacting a dense potato-starch suspension layer

Abstract

When a solid projectile is dropped onto a dense non-Brownian-particle suspension, the action of an extremely large resistance force on the projectile results in its drastic deceleration, followed by a rebound. In this study, we perform a set of simple experiments of dropping a solid-projectile impact onto a dense potato-starch suspension. From the kinematic data of the projectile motion, the restitution coefficient and time scale of the rebound are measured. By assuming linear viscoelasticity, the effective transient elasticity and viscosity can be estimated. We additionally estimate the Stokes viscosity on a longer time scale by measuring the slow sinking time of the projectile. The estimated elastic modulus and viscosity are consistent with separately measured previous results. In addition, the effect of mechanical vibration on the viscoelasticity is examined. As a result, we find that the viscoelasticity of the impacted dense suspension is not significantly affected by the mechanical vibration.