Open Access

ARTICLE

The Effect of the Reynolds Number on Lateral Migration of Nonneutrally-Buoyant Spherical Particles in Poiseuille Flow

S.-C. Hsiao¹, M.S. Ingber²

1 National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
2 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.

Computers, Materials & Continua 2004, 1(1), 51-58. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmc.2004.001.051

Abstract

The lateral migration of nonneutrally-buoyant spherical particles in Poiseuille flow is investigated numerically using the boundary element method. In particular, the steady, Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a classical domain integration method treating the nonlinear terms as pseudo-body forces. The numerical results for the lateral migration velocity are compared with experimental data. The numerical results indicate that the lateral migration velocity does not scale linearly with the Reynolds number. The methodology is extended to include non-Newtonian power-law fluids. The migration velocity is significantly affected for particles suspended in this class of fluids and can actually change direction for large values of the power-law index.

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Keywords

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