Hovering of a rigid pyramid in an oscillatory airflow

We investigate the dynamics of rigid bodies (hollow ‘pyramids’) placed within a background airflow, oscillating with zero mean. The asymmetry of the body introduces a net upward force. We find that when the amplitude of the airflow is above a threshold, the net lift exceeds the weight and the object starts to hover. Our results show that the objects hover at far smaller air amplitudes than would be required by a quasi-steady theory, although this theory accounts qualitatively for the behaviour of the system as the body mass becomes small.