Axi-symmetric motion of a porous approximate sphere in an approximate spherical container

Abstract

The creeping motion of a porous approximate sphere at the instant it passes the center of an approximate spherical container with Ochoa-Tapia and Whitaker’s stress jump boundary condition has been investigated analytically. The Brinkman’s model for the flow inside the porous approximate sphere and the Stokes equation for the flow in an approximate spherical container were used to study the motion. The stream function (and thus the velocity) and pressure (both for the flow inside the porous approximate sphere and inside an approximate spherical container) are calculated. The drag force experienced by the porous approximate spherical particle and wall correction factor are determined in closed forms. The special cases of porous sphere in a spherical container and oblate spheroid in an oblate spheroidal container are obtained from the present analysis. It is observed that drag not only changes with the permeability of the porous region, but as the stress jump coefficient increases, the rate of change in behavior of drag increases.