General formulas for drag coefficient and settling velocity of sphere based on theoretical law

The settlement of particles is of great importance in many areas. The accurate determination of drag coefficient and settling velocity in wide Reynolds number （Re） range remains a problem. In this paper, a series of new formulas for drag coefficient of spherical particles based on theoretical laws, such as the Stokes law, the Oseen law, and the Goldstein law, were developed and fitted using 480 groups of experimental data （Re 〈 2 × 10^5）. The results show that the 2nd approximation of a rational function containing only one parameter can describe Co-Re relationship accurately over the whole Re range of 0-2× 10^5. The new developed formulas containing five parameters show higher goodness over wide Re range than presently existing equations. The introduction of the Oseen law is helpful for improving the fitting goodness of the empirical formulas. On the basis of one of the Oseen-based Co-Re formulas giving the lowest sum of squared relative errors Qover the whole Re range （Re 〈 2 × 10^5）, a general formula for settling velocity ut based on dimensionless parameters was proposed showing high goodness.

Calculation of terminal velocity in transitional flow for spherical particle

The terminal velocity has been widely used in extensive fields, but the complexity of drag coefficient expression leads to the calculation of terminal velocity in transitional flow （1 〈 Re ≤ 1000） with much more difficulty than those in laminar flow （Re ≤ 1） and turbulent flow （Re ≥ 1000）. This paper summarized and compared 24 drag coefficient correlations, and developed an expression for calculating the terminal velocity in transitional flow, and also analyzed the effects of particle density and size, fluid density and viscosity on terminal velocity. The results show that 19 of 24 previously published correlations for drag coefficient have good prediction performance and can be used for calculating the terminal velocity in the entire transitional flow with higher accuracy. Adapting two dimensionless parameters （w＊, d＊）, a proposed explicit correlation, w＊=-25.68654 × exp （-d＊/77.02069）＋ 24.89826, is attained in transitional flow with good performance, which is helpful in calculating the terminal velocity.

Effects of gravel mulch on aeolian transport:a field wind tunnel simulation

The shape,size and coverage of gravels have significant impacts on aeolian sand transport.This study provided an understanding of aeolian transport over the gravel mulching surfaces at different wind velocities by means of a mobile wind tunnel simulation.The tested gravel coverage increased from 5% to 80%,with a progressive increment of 5%.The gravels used in the experiments have three sizes in diameter.Wind velocities were measured using 10 sand-proof pitot-static probes,and mean velocity fields were obtained and discussed.The results showed that mean velocity fields obtained over different gravel mulches were similar.The analysis of wind speed patterns revealed an inherent link between gravel mulches and mean airflow characteristics on the gravel surfaces.The optimal gravel coverage is considered to be the critical level above or below which aeolian transport characteristics differ strongly.According to the present study,the optimal gravel coverage was found to be around 30% or 40%.Threshold velocity linearly increased with gravel coverage.Sand transport rate first increased with height above the wind tunnel floor（Hf）,reaching a peak at some midpoint,and then decreased.

Experimental study of settling and drag on cuboids with square base

The drag on non-spherical particles is an important basic parameter for multi-phase flows such as in biomass combustion, chemical blending, and mineral processing. Though there is much experimental research on such particles, there are few results for cuboids. This paper presents data for cuboids with a square base in static glycerin-water solutions of various volume concentrations. Complex motions were observed and characterized. A dimensionless expression is given for terminal velocity ut as a function of Archimedes number Ar which is used to develop an accurate correlation for friction factor CD. The accuracy of the correlation is 7.9% compared to experimental data in the literature. For both square plates and square rods, the terminal velocity per unit mass, ut/mp, was used to characterize the influence of narticle geometry on velocity, which was shown to be linear.