An Analysis of Nanoparticle Settling Times in Liquids

Aggregation and settling are crucial phenomena involving particle suspensions. For suspensions with larger than millimeter-size particles, there are fairly accurate tools to predict settling rates. However for smaller particles, in particular micro-to-nanosizes, there is a gap in knowledge. This pap...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. D. Liyanage, Rajika J. K. A. Thamali, A. A. K. Kumbalatara, J. A. Weliwita, S. Witharana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
Series:Journal of Nanomaterials
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7061838
Description
Summary:Aggregation and settling are crucial phenomena involving particle suspensions. For suspensions with larger than millimeter-size particles, there are fairly accurate tools to predict settling rates. However for smaller particles, in particular micro-to-nanosizes, there is a gap in knowledge. This paper develops an analytical method to predict the settling rates of micro-to-nanosized particle suspensions. The method is a combination of classical equations and graphical methods. Validated using the experimental data in literature, it was found that the new method shows an order of magnitude accuracy. A remarkable feature of this method is its ability to accommodate aggregates of nonspherical shapes and of different fractal dimensions.
ISSN:1687-4110
1687-4129