Authors: Ioannis Haranas Ioannis Gkigkitzis George D Zouganelis
Publish Date: 2012/07/13
Volume: 342, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-43
Abstract
Sedimentation of particles in a fluid has long been used to characterize particle size distribution Stokes’ law is used to determine an unknown distribution of spherical particle sizes by measuring the time required for the particles to settle a known distance in a fluid of known viscosity and density In this paper we study the effects of gravity on sedimentation by examining the resulting particle concentration distributed in an equilibrium profile of concentration C mn above the bottom of a container This is for an experiment on the surface of the Earth and therefore the acceleration of gravity had been corrected for the oblateness of the Earth and its rotation Next at the orbital altitude of the spacecraft in orbit around Earth the acceleration due to the central field is corrected for the oblateness of the Earth Our results show that for experiments taking place in circular or elliptical orbits of various inclinations around the Earth the concentration ratio C mn /C mave the inclination seems to be the most ineffective in affecting the concentration among all the orbital elements For orbital experiment that use particles of diameter d p =0001 μm the concentration ratios for circular and slightly elliptical orbits in the range e=0–01 exhibit a 0009 difference The concentration ratio increases with the increase of eccentricity which increases more for particles of larger diameters Finally for particles of the same diameter concentration ratios between Earth and Mars surface experiments are related in the following way C mn mathitEarth = 099962 C mn mathitMars
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