THEFALLVELOCITYOFGRAINPARTICLES

Publication83

H.J.vanIeperen

Dept.ofHydraulicsandCatchmentHydrology
AgriculturalUniversityWageningen,1987

2^MP
CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION

2 FALLVELOCITYOFASPHERE

3 FALLVELOCITYOFGRAINS

4 EQUATIONSFORDRAGCOEFFICIENTANDFALLVELOCITY

5 POWERFUNCTIONSFORTHETRANSITIONREGION

6 CONCLUDINGREMARK 12

LITERATURE 13

LISTOFSYMBOLS 14

APPENDIX1:Derivationofdragcoefficientatdifferentformulas
forthefallvelocity. 15

APPENDIX2:Derivationoftheequationforthefallvelocityin
thetransitionregion. 17
1 INTRODUCTION

Thefallorsettlingvelocityofgrainparticlesfiguresprominently in all
sedimenttransportproblemsandalthoughtheconceptisstraightforwardits
preciseevaluationorcalculationisnot. For implementation in computer
models an adequate describtion ofthefallvelocity isrequired.Inthis
notegoverningequationsarepresentedto predict the fall velocity for
laminar and turbulent motion and forthetransitionregion.Inaddition
simplepowerfunctionsareusedtoexpressthe relation between the drag
coefficient andtheparticleReynoldsnumber.Thelatterrelationisneeded
toobtainadirectsolutionforthefallvelocity.

2 FALLVELOCITYOFASPHERE

Thefallvelocityofagrainparticleis a function of size, shape and

density of theparticleandviscosityofthefluid.Italsodependsonthe
extentofthefluidinwhichitfalls,onthenumber of particles falling
and on the level of turbulence intensity. Falling underinfluenceof
gravity,theparticlewillreachaconstantvelocity,theterminalvelocity,
when the drag force equals the submerged weight oftheparticle.For
sphericalparticlesthesubmergedweightisexpressedas:

G= (Ps-Pw> •\ *° 3 •S <X>

where,

G -submergedweight [MLT"2]
ps =densityofsediment [ML"^]
p w-densityofwater [ML"']
D =particlediameter [L]
g =accelerationduetogravity [LT"^]

Thefrictionaldragforceequals:

F D-C D • \ * D2 •£^L (2)

where,
F D-dragforce [MLT'2]
Cj)-dragcoefficient [1]
w =particlefallvelocity [LT"^]

FromEquation1and2theterminalfallvelocitycanbecalculatedas:

W 2 .*1 g D E^lM (3)

3C
D Pw

ThevalueofCpdependsontheReynoldsnumberofthesettlingparticle:

Re- ?—» (4)

where,

Re=Reynoldsnumber [1]
v =kinematicviscosity [1/T"-*-]

TherelationbetweenCj)andReholds threeregions.For laminar flow the

frictionalresistance isonlyduetoviscous forces andCpvaries inverse
proportionaltoRe.

CD= g (5)

forRe<0.5 andapproximately forupto1.0. AthighReynoldsnumbersthe

flow of water takes placeunder fully developed turbulentconditions.
Compared withtheeddyingresistancetheviscousforcesare negligibleand
Cj)isapproximatelyconstant,or

C D =0.40 (6)

forRe>2000,andupto10 5 .

For thetransition zoneanexact formulafor Cj)cannot begivenbutfor

Reynolds numbers below 10^ (including the laminar flow region)agood
approximationthatcanbeusedis(Huisman,1973):
24 . 3
C (7)
D=Re-+ j R e - + 0 - 3 4
3 FALLVELOCITYOFGRAINS

Sofarasinglesphericalparticleisconsidered in a fluid of infinite

extent. For non-spherical particleswithregularshapeacorrelationwith
thedragcoefficientandashapefactorcanbeobtained.Theshapefactoris
expressedastheratioofthesurfaceareaofasphereofthesamevolumeas
theparticletotheactualsurfaceareaoftheparticle,andisalso called
"degreeoftruesphericity"

tf A (8)
sN

where

f =shapefactor [1]
A s -surfaceareaofsphericalparticle [L2]
A S N = surfaceareaofnonsphericalparticle [L2]

Graf (1971) shows graphs of the settling velocityforvariousregular

shapes,togetherwithanaverageforirregularquartzgrains (Figure1).

i ! 1 \ 1 ! ®4M
i I i • ©. MA® w i
! ! 1 \ ' ' \ i
M '/ ! • • !

I : /it.: /
i
For qua rtz(s5 =2.65)at 20°C water
Pettyjohn et al.data
, J ©s/'// /
0 ¥ =1,000
(T)V •0.906
©
©
Stokes' equation
Newton's equation i
®^
M\ !

:M
© ¥ = 0.846 © Rubey's equation
''• ;

© ¥ = 0,806 © Dota from Mamak

i i
w
i

A •y ^
1 é'%V M©
AA s

i
i ! , id?
4'
\j*
K ^® /
s

;
i ^ i I
1
V\ ! / !
&r^
| /
^ /

IQ"'
.4 ^
^
Hi 104

Figure1 Settling velocityversus particlediameter [After Graf etal.

(1966)].
In caseofashapefactorof0.670(tetahedron)thedragcoefficientcanbe
calculatedas

CD«i (»)

forthelaminarregionand

C D=2.00 (10)
incaseofturbulentmotion.

Expressionsforthefallvelocityfromwhichthe drag coefficient can be

derived are given by Raudkivi (1976)andVanRijn(1985)forlaminarand
turbulentmotionwhileZanke (1977)proposedanequationforthe transition
zone. Raudkivi alsodefinesthetransitionzonebyanumberofpoints.The
equationsgivenbyRaudkiviare:

w ~ 663D 2 (11)

wherew isinmm/sandDinmmforD<0.15mm,and

w«135.5D V 2 (12)

forD>1.50mm (Bothequationsat20°C). Ifmeterinsteadofmillimeter is

used as unit, and for comparitive anddimensionalreasonstherelative
density, acceleration due to gravity and kinematic viscosity is
incorporated,theseEquationsbecome:

1 AgD2
(D<0.15mm) (13)
w— 24.42 a v

and

w-1.057 (AgD) 1 / 2 (D>1.5mm) (14)

respectively,with

A _ PH - Pw (15)
Pv
where,
 A=relativelydensity [1]

From Equation(3)and (13)itcanbederivedthatinthiscaseforlaminar

motion:

C D- ^ (16)

and,similar,forturbulentmotion:

C D =1.193 (17)

VanRijngivesthesameformulasas(13)and (14)butuses 18 and 1,1 as

coefficients meaning thatforlaminarmotionequation (5)isfoundandfor
tubulentmotion:

C D =1.102 (18)

Theequation proposedbijZankeandalsousedbyVanRijnfor0.1<D< 1.0

mm,yields:

w=10 V-[{l+ 0.01 ^ Î } V 2

- 1] (19)

Whichcorrespondsto(seealsoappendix1):

c-
D I (i
+§2]

ThisEquation resultsin adrag coefficientof26.7/ReforsmallReynolds

number,aCpvalue of28 forReynolds numberequal to1,andof1.333in
caseofhighReynoldsnumbers.Thisincludesadiscontinuityattheboundary
ofthetransitionregionifusedincombinationwiththementionedequations
forlaminarandturbulentmotion.Inthiswayaninadequate description of
thedependancyofthedragcoefficientontheReynoldsnumberisobtained.

4 EQUATIONSFORDRAGCOEFFICIENTANDFALLVELOCITY

To deal with the problem mentioned, for laminar motionatRe<1the

equationforthedragcoefficientbecomes:

C D -g (2D
ForturbulentmotionatRe> 250aconstantvalueof1.15 istaken:

C D - 1.15 (22)

The limitof250isfoundusingequation (14)witha particle diameter of

0.15 mmandcorresponds tothefiguresofGraf (1971).
Adapting an equationlike (20)butwithdifferentcoefficients theformula
forthetransitionregionwouldyield:

C D =1.042 (1+2 L J Z ) (23)

Theaccuracy ofthecoefficients isforcomputational reasonsonly.

Thecorresponding equations forthe particle fall velocity become for

laminarmotion (Re<1):

forturbulentmotion (Re>250):

w =1.077 (AgD)V2 (25)

andforthetransitionregionwith1<Re< 250
(seeappendix2):

witha= 1.077 and ß - 25.87thisresultsin:

5+{(l
w = 12.94 ^ Il •^ •10"^
7.399 ^ 1 â1 ^
•10-3 / 2
V-2
lk. ^ (27)

A comparisonoftheparticle fallvelocityat20°C,calculated according to

thedifferentequations isgivenintable1.
 D w
mm mm/s
Region
Raudkivi VanRijn Zanke equation(27)

0.01 0.0663 0.0899 0.0771

0.02 0.2652 0.3598 0.3084
0.04 1.061 1.439 1.234
laminar
0.06 2.387 3.238 2.775
0.08 4.243 5.756 4.934
0.10 6.63 8.994 7.791 7.709

0.15 14.8 16.24 17.25

0.20 20.4 25.75 26.57
0.40 42.9 59.27 64.27
transition
0.60 65.2 83.29 92.00
0.80 87.6 102.0 113.6
1.0 110.0 140.0 117.6 131.6

1.5 166.0 171.4 165.0

2.0 190.2 197.9 193.8
4.0 269.0 279.9 274.1
turbulent
6.0 329.5 342.8 335.7
8.0 380.4 395.9 387.6
10 425.3 442.6 433.3
20 601.5 625.9 612.7

Table1 Comparisonofparticlefallvelocitycalculatedindifferentway.

5 POWERFUNCTIONSFORTHETRANSITIONREGION

The results in thetransitionregionarenotverysatisfactory,becausea

toohighfallvelocityis found, meaning that the drag coefficient is
underpredicted. To avoidthisanEquationlike (7)couldbetriedout,but
 10

thedisadvantageofthisformuleisthatnodirect solution for the fall

velocity can be found whenitissubstitutedinEquation (3).Asuperior
method,alsosuggestedbyHuisman (1973),is to subdivide the transition
region and to approximate the dragcoefficientbyusing formulaeofthe
type:

C D=gfp (28)

Combiningequation (3)and(28)yields:

w 2 =— 3AgD (29)

whichisequivalent to:

R e 2 _wfji_* £ 4AgDl
a 3 v'

or:
a ReW= \ *$- (31)

sothat:
2 ß
w-£P?D^-i
[a3' v2J (32)

Theupperandlower limitfortheuseofthedifferent formulaecanbebased

on numeric values oftherighthand sideofequation (31).Inthiswaythe
choicefortheright formulacanmadeinadvancewhile thisisnot possible
iftheboundariesaredefinedbytheReynoldsnumber.Thenextequationsare
appropriatetopredicttheparticle fallvelocity:

(Re<1)

CD-Ü2/3 28 < f ^ 2 i < 960.1 (34)

(1 < Re < 14.17)

 11

18
r 960.1<J^ 4 <6.903•104 (35)
c D-R^I/2 -3

(14.17<Re<245)

C D = 1.15 t ^ ,2- >ü6.903•10 4 (36)

(Re>245)

Thepartielefall velocitycalculated accordingtoequation (33)upuntil

(36)isgiveninTable2,showingverysatisfactoryresults.

4AgD3
Region D w Re cD
3 v2
nun mm/s 1 1 1

0.01 0.077 2.159-10-2 7.709-10-4 3.632-10+4

0.02 0.308 1.727-10-1 6.168-10-3 4.540-10+3
0.04 1.234 1.382 4.934-10-2 5.675-10+2
laminar
0.06 2.775 4.663 1.665-10"1 1.681-10+2
0.08 4.934 1.105•10+1 3.947-10-1 7.094-10+1
0.10 7.709 2.159-10+1 7.709-10"1 3.632-10+1

0.15 13.66 7.285-10+1 2.049 1.736-10+1

0.20 19.57 1.727-10+2 3.914 1.127•10+1
0.40 45.15 1.382-10+3 1.806-10+1 4.236
transition 3 1
0.60 67.73 4.663-10+ 4.064-10+ 2.824
0.80 90.30 1.105•10+4 7.224-10+1 2.118
4 2
1.0 112.9 2.159•10+ 1.129-10+ 1.694

1.5 167.8 7.285-10+4 2.517-10+2 1.150

turbulent 5 2
1.150
2.0 193.8 1.727-10+ 3.875-10+

Table2 Particlefallvelocityat20°C.

ThedependancyofthedragcoefficientontheReynoldsnumber according to
Equation (33) up until (36) isshowninFigure2incomparisontoother
formulae.
 12

10
Raudkivi
^\ - — Van Rijn/Zanke
\ \ y'•,
\\*\ Present author
\\'
N\
N
> VNV

N*'

10
N,
v.#
N
's

^%
"•» ^"s
*Vsl*.

...
10"
10" 10 10"
Re
Figure 2 Drag coefficient versus Reynolds number.

6 CONCLUDING REMARK

The foregoing analysis gives an arbitrary solution to the problem of

calculating the particle fall velocity. A refinement in the constants and
powers in the proposed formulae can be accomplished by a more comprehensive
study using additional literature and also experimental data for making a
least square fit.
 13

LITERATURE

Graf,W.H.andE.R.Acaroglu (1966).Settlingvelocitiesofnatural grains,

Bull.Int.Ass.Sei.Hydrology,11,no.4.

Graf, W.H. (1971). Hydraulics of Sediment Transport,McGraw-HillBook

Company,NewYork.

Huisman, L. (1973). Sedimentation and Flotation, Department of Civil

Engineering,Delft,UniversityofTechnology,Delft.

Raudkivi,A.J. (1976).LooseBoundaryHydraulics,PergamonPress,Oxford.

Rijn, L.C. van (1984). Sediment transport, Part II: Suspended load
transport. JournalofHydraulicEngineering,Vol.110,No.11,November
1984,ASCE.

Zanke,U. (1977).BerechnungdesSinkgeschwindigkeitenvonSedimenten.Mitt.
des Franzius - Institus fürWasserbau.Heft46,Seite243,Technical
University,Hannover.
 14

LISTOFSYMBOLS

A S N = surfaceareaofnonspherlcalparticle [L2]
A s -surfaceareaofsphericalparticle [L2]
CD =dragcoefficient [1]
D =particlediameter [L]
FQ=dragforce [MLI"2]
g =accelerationduetogravity [LI"2]
G =submergedweight [MLT'2]
Re=Reynoldsnumber [1]
w =particlefallvelocity [LT"1]
A =relativedensity [1]
v =kinematicviscosity [L2 I'1]
p w=densityofwater [ML"3]
ps =densityofsediment [ML"3]
* —shapefactor [1]
 15

APPENDIX1: Derivationofdragcoefficientfromdifferentformulas forthe

fallvelocity.

Fallvelocityequation:

w 2 =J-|AgD
"C 3
(1)
D

Laminar

1AgDs
w - ^ ^ - (2)
a v

(3)
<"*«>- "-5553

°D - 1 ab <4)

Turbulentmotion:

w=£ (AgD) 1 ^ (5)

- w 2- ß2 AgD (6)

(1) & (6) - CD - | ^ (7)

T r a n s i t i o n region:

1/2
w = io£{[i +o.oi^i] - i} (8)

(1) & (8) ^ - 10 <[[l + 0.01 | w2 CD ^ ] 1 / 2

- l} (9)

1 f 3 "11/2
^ Re + 1 = | l + 0.01 I CD Re 2 J

0.01 Re2 + 0.2 Re - 0.01 | CD Re 2

 16

Re 2+20Re- - C DRe 2

CD
thi) (10)
 17

APPENDIX2: Derivationofthe equation for the fall velocity in the

transitionregion.

Equationforthedragcoefficient:

C D-a (l+f;] (1)

Equationforthefallvelocity:

w 2 =J-|C1_4
AgD
3
(2)
D

Y
(1)& (2)->w 2- , .>7AgD (3)

(4)

w 2 +0£w--|AgD=0 (5)
D a Ó

Therelevantsolutionofequation(5)yields

IV2
w=
&•{($* • j f ^ r
or

1
»-ilh^t^r- }