The physical interaction of spherical particles in suspensions

Summary An experimental examination of the interaction between a falling sphere and an aqueous suspension of nonsettling spheres through which it is passing is described. It is shown that if theReynolds number is small the falling speed of a sphere is unaffected by the size of the suspended spheres, provided that the volume concentration of the suspension is unchanged. This is shown to be true even when the falling sphere is of the same size as the suspended spheres. At highReynolds numbers, however, the falling speed of a sphere diminishes as its size approaches that of the suspended particles. The significance of these results to the theory of the viscosity of suspensions is discussed.     

Temperature force of interaction between spherical particles

The force of interaction between small particles in a gas induced by a temperature difference between the particle surface and the gas far away from the particle is considered. The particle dimensions correspond to the free-molecular, transitional, and continuum heat transfer regimes. A Monte-Carlo numerical method of direct statistical simulation of the solution of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation and the results of asymptotic solutions are used. The force of interaction between two hot or cold spherical particles is investigated. The dependence of the temperature force on the particle size, i.e. on the flow regime (Knudsen number), and the distance between the particles is examined. Approximations for these dependences are constructed.     

Unloading of an elastic–plastic loaded spherical contact

The process of unloading of an elastic–plastic loaded sphere in contact with a rigid flat is studied by finite element method. The sphere material is assumed isotropic with elastic-linear hardening. The numerical simulations cover a wide range of material properties and sphere radius. The contact load, stresses, and deformation in the sphere during both loading and unloading, are calculated for a wide range of interferences. Analytical dimensionless expressions are presented for the unloading load–deformation relation, the residual interference and the residual curvature of the sphere after complete unloading. A new measure termed elastic–plastic loading index is introduced to indicate the plasticity level of the loaded sphere. Some ideas regarding reversibility of the unloading process and elasticity of multiple loading unloading are also presented.     

On the interaction between two fixed spherical particles

The variation of the drag (C_D) and lift coefficients (C_L) of two fixed solid spherical particles placed at different positions relative each other is studied. Simulations are carried out for particle Reynolds numbers of 50, 100 and 200 and the particle position is defined by the angle between the line connecting the centers of the particles and the free-stream direction (α) and the separation distance (d₀) between the particles. The flow around the particles is simulated using two different methods; the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), using two different computational codes, and a conventional finite difference approach, where the Volume of Solid Method (VOS) is used to represent the particles. Comparisons with available numerical and experimental data show that both methods can be used to accurately resolve the flow field around particles and calculate the forces the particles are subjected to. Independent of the Reynolds number, the largest change in drag, as compared to the single particle case, occurs for particles placed in tandem formation. Compared to a single particle, the drag reduction for the secondary particle in tandem arrangement is as high as 60%, 70% and 80% for Re = 50, 100 and 200, respectively. The development of the recirculation zone is found to have a significant influence on the drag force. Depending on the flow situation in-between the particles for various particle arrangements, attraction and repulsion forces are detected due to low and high pressure regions, respectively. The results show that the inter-particle forces are not negligible even under very dilute conditions.     

Multiple loading–unloading of an elastic–plastic spherical contact

A model for multiple repeated loading and unloading of an elastic–plastic sphere and a rigid flat is presented to cover a wide range of loading conditions far beyond the elastic limit. The sphere material is modeled as elastic linear isotropic hardening and follows the von Mises yield criterion. It is shown that although most of the plastic deformation occurs during the first loading, secondary plastic flow may evolve during the first unloading. The occurrence of this secondary plastic flow depends on the level of first loading and is strongly affected by the Poisson’s ratio and material hardening. The region of secondary plastic flow may propagate during the very first loading–unloading cycles, reaching a steady state after which the following loading–unloading cycles become fully elastic.     

Adhesion in the contact of a spherical indenter with a layered elastic half-space

With the emergence of micro- and nano-technology, the contact mechanics of MEMS and NEMS devices and components is becoming more important. Thus it is important to gain a better understanding of the role of coatings and thin films on micro- and nano-scale contact phenomena, and to understand the interactions of measurement devices, such as an atomic force microscope (AFM), with layered media.More specifically, in this work the frictionless contact, with adhesion, between a spherical indenter and an elastic-layered medium is investigated. This configuration can be viewed as either a single contact model or as a building block of a multi-asperity rough surface contact model. As the scale decreases to the nano level, adhesion becomes an important issue. The presence of adhesion affects the relationships among the applied force, the penetration of the indenter, and the size of the contact area. This axisymmetric problem includes the effect of adhesion using a Maugis type of adhesion model. This model spans the range of the Tabor parameter between the JKR and DMT regions. The key parameters in this analysis are the elastic moduli ratio of the layer and the substrate, the dimensionless layer thickness, and the Maugis adhesion parameter. The results can be applied to a rigid or to an elastic indenter.     

Tangential oscillations of a differentially rotating spherical fluid layer

The natural harmonic oscillations of a differentially rotating fluid layer under the action of a potential force are considered. The rise in the layer level is assumed to be negligible. The oscillations satisfy an ordinary second-order differential equation with singular coefficients that depend on the spatial coordinate. This equation is solved by the method of local separation of singularities based on the use of the properties of the Fuchs series for a bounded solution. Various laws for the latitude dependence of the angular rate of ocean rotation and the effect of these laws on the problem spectrum are considered. An equation is obtained for the streamlines of the oscillations investigated. Two cases in which the latitude dependence of the base flow velocity coincides with the real dependence for a celestial body are considered and the corresponding modes are found.     

The buckling of elastic spherical caps

The John equations are used to model the buckling of a simply-supported elastic spherical cap that is subjected to a constant uniform external load . The Liapunov-Schmidt method is used to solve these equations. We show that solutions possessing circular, pear-shaped, elliptical, triangular, square-shaped, pentagonal and a variety of other symmetries branch from the unbuckled state of the shell. The stability of these solutions is discussed. Some numerics that complement the analytical results are also included.     

On contact interaction between a moving massive body and a linear elastic half space

We study a class of problems involving the motion of a linear elastic body in frictional contact with a linear elastic half space. The dynamic effects considered are the inertial properties of the body regarded as rigid. We study only those regimes of contact interaction for which the slip velocity with the body taken as absolutely rigid and the time rate of change of the elastic displacements of points of the body and the half space that are on the contact surface are of the same order of magnitude. This work generalizes previous work on similar problems in that we simultaneously consider inertia forces of the body and the convective term in the slip-velocity due to the rigid-body velocity of the slider/indentor. Thus regimes of contact interaction investigated include rolling/sliding and shift-torsion type. We propose a variational formulation of the following two problems: (a) finite contact area and shift-torsion type of contact kinematics, (b) local contact area and general kinematics at the contact surface. Results for an elastic cylinder contacting an elastic half-plane are also given.     

Tangential continuity of elastic/plastic curvature and strain at interfaces

The continuity vs discontinuity of the elastic/plastic curvature & curvature rate, and strain & strain rate tensors is examined at non-moving surfaces of discontinuity, in the context of a field theory of crystal defects (dislocations and disclinations). Tangential continuity of these tensors derives from the conservation of the Burgers and Frank vectors over patches bridging the interface, in the limit where such patches contract onto the interface. However, normal discontinuity of these tensors remains allowed, and Kirchhoff-like compatibility conditions on their normal discontinuities across the concurring interfaces are derived at multiple junctions. In a simple plane case and in the absence of surface-disclinations, the compatibility of the normal discontinuities in the elastic curvatures assumes the form of a Young’s law between the grain-to-grain disorientations and the sines of the dihedral angles. Complete continuity of the plastic strain rate tensor at triple junctions also derives from the compatibility of the normal discontinuities in the plastic strain rates in such conditions.     

Hydrodynamic diffusivity of spherical particles in polymer solution

In this research experiments were performed to examine the hydrodynamic diffusion of spherical particles in a highly filled suspension. The suspension consisted of nearly monodisperse polymethylmethacrylate spheres in a density matched polymer solution. The polymer solution was prepared by dissolving 0–700 ppm of polyacrylamide in a mixture of ethyleneglycol and glycerine. The polymer solution did not show appreciable shear thinning. The particle loading was varied from 30 to 55%. The hydrodynamic diffusivity was estimated by measuring the time-dependent viscosity when the suspension was subjected to a circular Couette flow with an air bubble trapped under the rotor of the Couette apparatus. The results show that the dimensionless diffusivity (D/γ˙a ²) of particles in polymer solution is not proportional to shear rate (γ˙), as in the case of a Newtonian fluid, but that it decreases with increasing shear rate. The diffusivity also decreases with increasing polymer concentration. It is suggested that the elongational thickening behaviour and the increased lubrication force due to the first normal stress difference may be responsible for the reduction of diffusivity in the polymer solution. Received: 18 January 2000 Accepted: 6 April 2000