Abstract
The evolution of velocity fluctuations in a stably stratified suspension settling under the influence of gravity is studied. Based on a continuum model for sedimentation dynamics, decay of long-wave fluctuations in the particle density is found. Substantial reduction in velocity fluctuations is an important consequence. Specifically, the evolution of the particle density in a stably stratified suspension immediately leads to particle distributions, where the variance in the velocity is bounded as the container size grows to infinity. This result is a possible explanation for why velocity fluctuations have been observed to depend on container size in numerical simulations but generally not in physical experiments.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1619-1621 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Physics of Fluids |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2000 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Computational Mechanics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes