Effect of interaction between a particle cluster and a single particle on particle motion and distribution during sedimentation: A numerical study.

The interaction between a particle cluster and a single particle during sedimentation is studied with the lattice Boltzmann method, where the effects of the initial distance and particle number on the motion and distribution of the particle cluster are investigated. Compared to the case without the single particle, the motion and distribution of the particle cluster are affected significantly due to the effect of the single particle. Due to the interaction between the particle cluster and the single particle, the particle-particle interaction becomes stronger; compared to the case without the single particle, the velocity fluctuation of the particle cluster is much more intensive. Besides, the particle cluster is scattered by the single particle, and the distribution of the particle cluster becomes more inhomogeneous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]