Translation and rotation of spheres settling in square and circular conduits: Experiments and numerical predictions

The terminal settling velocities and rotation rates of spherical particles settling in circular and square conduits were investigated experimentally and numerically with the aim to benchmark the numerical predictions using the boundary element method. Spheres were allowed to settle in viscous Newtonian fluid under conditions such that only hydrodynamic forces exerted an appreciable effect. The terminal settling velocities and the rotation rates were measured as a function of the size and density of the falling sphere, the drop position of the sphere in the conduit and the dimensions and geometry of the containing vessel or conduit. The experimental measurements were subjected to an exacting error analysis and compared with fully three-dimensional boundary element calculations. We found that the results of the experiments and numerical simulations showed remarkable agreement within the bounds of experimental error.