Effect of fluid viscosity on the suspension of a single particle in channel flow

Suspension of a single solid particle in a channel flow with a constant pressure gradient is studied numerically. The interaction of a circular particle with a surrounding Newtonian fluid is formulated using a combined formulation. Numerical results are presented using two dimensionless variables: the sedimentation Reynolds number and the generalized Froude number. From the present results, it has been shown that a solid particle is suspended at a smaller generalized Froude number as the viscosity of the surrounding fluid increases. The time taken for equilibrium position is found to be smaller as fluid viscosity increases when both : the sedimentation Reynolds number and the generalized Froude number are the same while, at the same situation, the dimensionless time taken for equilibrium position is to be nearly the same regardless of fluid viscosity when a dimensionless time variable is introduced.