Influences of particle-particle and particle-wall interactions on the settling behaviors of the centimeter-sized spherical particles

Abstract

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of particle-particle and particle-wall interactions on the settling process of spherical particles. A convergence binocular calibration technique was used to capture the settling process under three typical conditions: (a) individual spherical particles settling at the center of the tank, (b) individual spherical particles settling near the wall, and (c) two symmetric spherical particles settling at the center of the tank. The ratio of initial particle-particle or particle-wall gap to the particle diameter is defined as a dimensionless parameter Gap. For individual particles released near the wall, when Gap is within 1.5, the wall significantly suppresses the random deflection characteristics typically observed for individual spherical particles settling at the tank center. Similarly, for two symmetric particles, random deflection is markedly suppressed, with highly symmetrical settling velocities and trajectories. The settling behavior of an individual spherical particle near the wall closely resembles that of the wall-facing particle in the symmetric-pair case, indicating that the wall effectively acts as a mirror. Additionally, Gap exerts little influence on the final mean settling velocity for either individual particles released near the wall or twin particles released at the center of the water tank.