Theoretical investigation of the free fall of a spherical particle in a viscous fluid using continuous piecewise linearization method

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical investigation of the problem of free fall of a spherical particle in a viscous fluid. The classic Boussinesq-Basset-Oseen (BBO) model for particle motion in laminar flow was modified for generalized flow by using a drag law that is applicable for 0<Re≤2.0×105. By assuming that the acceleration in the Basset force integral is constant, the Basset force effect was approximated to form an integrated added mass coefficient. Consequently, the integro-differential equation of the BBO model was transformed to a first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation that accounts for the Basset force effect and was solved using the continuous piecewise linearization method (CPLM). The CPLM algorithm was developed based on the jerk-velocity relationship and is applicable to zero and non-zero initial conditions, steady motion, increasing or decreasing velocities and the corresponding acceleration and jerk responses. The CPLM algorithm was shown to predict published experimental results accurately and compared very well with numerical solutions and existing analytical solutions. Examination of the fall response under varying parameters showed that the fall distance, fall time and terminal velocity depend strongly on the sphere diameter, sphere density, and the density and viscosity of the fluid medium. Also, an analytical solution for the power dissipated in the fluid medium as the sphere falls to reach its terminal velocity was derived. The power dissipated was found to increase exponentially as the initial velocity deviates positively from the terminal velocity.