CH206-Fluid and Particle Mechanics-II

Module-I
Motion of Particles through Fluid

Dr.Mohanraj N
S4/Feb 2020
Mechanics of particle motion
When a particles moves through a fluid, three forces act on it,

1) External force such as gravitational or centrifugal force due to which the

particle moves,

2) Buoyant force – acts parallel with the external force, but opposite in
direction,

3) Drag force due to relative motion between particle and fluid – acts
parallel to the direction of motion, but opposite in direction.
Generally, drag force may make an angle with the other 2, resulting in 2-
dimensional motion. When all the forces are acting in parallel directions, we
call it 1-dimensional motion.
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One-dimensional particle motion through fluid
Consider a particle of mass m, moving through a fluid under the action of an
external force Fe.
Writing the net force balance on the body,
du
m  Fe  Fb  FD
dt
where, u is the relative velocity, Fb is the bouyant force and FD is the drag
force.
mae C D u02 Ap
Fe  mae Fb  V p ae  FD 
p 2
where, Ap is the projected area of particle measured in plane perpendicular to
direction of motion; u0 = u.
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One-dimensional particle motion through fluid
Summing the forces,
2
du ae C D u0 Ap du (  p   ) C D u02 Ap
 ae     ae 
dt p 2m dt p 2m

Under gravitational force,

du ( p   ) C D u 2 Ap
g 
dt p 2m

Under centrifugal field,

2
du 2
(  p   ) C D u Ap
 r 
dt p 2m
where, u is the relative velocity of the particle directed outward
along a radius. 4
Terminal velocity
In gravitational settling, g is a constant. But drag increases with velocity.
Hence, overall particle acceleration decreases with time and approaches
zero.
i.e., particles attains a constant maximum velocity, termed as terminal
velocity.
2 g (  p   )m
ut 
Ap  p C D 

In centrifugal field, acceleration is proportional to radius. However, in practical

uses of centrifugal force, du/dt is very small and can be neglected. Thus, a
terminal settling velocity could be calculated for a given radius,

2r (  p   ) m
ut  
Ap  p C D 
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Terminal velocity for spheres (low Rep)
2 g (  p   )m
ut 
Ap  p C D 

1 1
m  V p  p  D 3p  p Ap  D p2
6 4

4g ( p   )Dp
ut  1
3C D 

At low Rep, (<1), Stokes’ law is applicable.

24 gD p2 (  p   )
FD  3u0 D p CD  ut 
Re p 18

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Terminal velocity for spheres (high Rep)
4g ( p   )Dp
ut  1
3C D 
At high Rep, (1000 – 2,00,000), drag coefficient is approximately constant,
0.44.
2 2
gD p (  p   )
FD  0.055D p ut  C D  0.44 ut  1.75


Termed as Newton’s Law; applicable to fairly large particles falling in gases or

low-viscosity fluids.
In Stokes’ law range, terminal velocity varies with square of Dp. In Newton’s
law range, it varies with sq. root of Dp.

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Terminal velocity for spheres (intermediate Rep)

Brown, P. P. & Lawler, D. F., Journal of Environmental Engineering (2003) 129, 3, pg, 222-231.
In the intermediate region, the terminal velocity would have to be calculated
using equation 1.
An alternate empirical equation termed as intermediate law is,
0.71 1.14 0.7
0 . 153 g D (    )
C D  18.5 Re p0.6 ut 
p p

 0.29  0.43
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Settling
Free settling
If the particle moving in the fluid is at a sufficient distance from the
boundaries of the container and from other particles such that the fall is not
affected by any of these, it is termed Free settling.

Hindered settling
If the motion of the particles is impeded by other particles (even though
they might not be in direct physical contact), the process is called Hindered
settling.

Drag coefficient of hindered settling is greater than that for free settling.

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Hindered settling
Velocity gradients around each particle are affected by nearby particles.

For a uniform suspension, the settling velocity can be estimated from the
terminal velocity for an isolated particle using empirical Maude and Whitmore
equation;
u s  ut ( ) n
Exponent ‘n’ changes from about 4.6 in the Stokes’ law range to about 2.5 in
Newton’s law region.

Settling velocity is also a function of particle shape and size distribution. In

general, hindered settling rates are less pronounced in case of larger
particles than smaller particles.

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