Concentration Matters: Enhancing Particle Settling in Narrow Tilted Channels

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kundu, Dipankar, Usabiaga, Florencio Balboa, Vázquez-Quesada, Adolfo, Ellero, Marco
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Kundu, Dipankar
Usabiaga, Florencio Balboa
Vázquez-Quesada, Adolfo
Ellero, Marco
author_facet Kundu, Dipankar
Usabiaga, Florencio Balboa
Vázquez-Quesada, Adolfo
Ellero, Marco
contents Particles are known to sediment faster in containers with tilted walls than in vertical ones, a phenomenon known as the Boycott effect. In this work, we investigate how the tilt angle influences sedimentation in narrow channels across different particle volume fractions. Using particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics simulations, we reveal that there exists a concentration-dependent optimal tilt angle that maximizes sedimentation rates. Furthermore, at large tilt angles, the flow profiles across the channel deviate from the classical parabolic shape. We show that these non-parabolic profiles can be accurately captured by a one-dimensional Brinkman model, providing a predictive framework for understanding and tuning sedimentation in tilted geometries. Our findings demonstrate the potential to control and optimize particle settling by adjusting the channel tilt according to particle concentration, opening new possibilities for design in industrial and laboratory processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_06539
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Concentration Matters: Enhancing Particle Settling in Narrow Tilted Channels
Kundu, Dipankar
Usabiaga, Florencio Balboa
Vázquez-Quesada, Adolfo
Ellero, Marco
Fluid Dynamics
Soft Condensed Matter
Particles are known to sediment faster in containers with tilted walls than in vertical ones, a phenomenon known as the Boycott effect. In this work, we investigate how the tilt angle influences sedimentation in narrow channels across different particle volume fractions. Using particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics simulations, we reveal that there exists a concentration-dependent optimal tilt angle that maximizes sedimentation rates. Furthermore, at large tilt angles, the flow profiles across the channel deviate from the classical parabolic shape. We show that these non-parabolic profiles can be accurately captured by a one-dimensional Brinkman model, providing a predictive framework for understanding and tuning sedimentation in tilted geometries. Our findings demonstrate the potential to control and optimize particle settling by adjusting the channel tilt according to particle concentration, opening new possibilities for design in industrial and laboratory processes.
title Concentration Matters: Enhancing Particle Settling in Narrow Tilted Channels
topic Fluid Dynamics
Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.06539