Topic3:

TransportPhenomena2ndEditionR.ByronBird,WarrenE.Stewart,EdwinN.
Lightfoot;Chapter2pg.4074

Chapter2:
ShellMomentumBalancesandVelocityDistributionsinLaminarFlow

Introduction:

In this chapter show how to obtain the viscosity profiles for laminar flows in simple

systems. We use the definition of viscosity, the expressions for the molecularand convective
momentum fluxes, and the concept of a momentum balance. To obtain interest as quantities
suchasthemaximumvelocity,theaveragevelocity,ortheshearstressata surface.Themethods
and problems in this chapter apply only to steady flow with Laminar flow. By steady we mean
thatthepressure,density,andvelocitycomponentsateachpointinthestreamdonotchangewith
time. Laminar flow is the orderly flow that is observed, for example, in tube flow at velocities
sufficientlylowthattinyparticlesinjectedintothetubemovealonginathinline.Thisisinsharp
contrastwiththewildlychaotic"turbulentflow"atsufficientlyhighvelocitiesthattheparticlesare
flungapartanddispersedthroughouttheentirecrosssectionofthetube.

A)

Laminar flow, the fluid layers move

smoothlyoveroneanotherinthedirectionof
flow.
B)

Turbulent Flow, the flow pattern is

complex

and

timedependent,

with

considerable motion perpendicular to the

principalflowdirection.

2.1SHELLMOMENTUMBALANCESANDBOUNDARYCONDITIONS

Momentumbalanceforsteadyflow:

Thisstatementhasarelationwiththelawofconservationofmomentum.Inthemomentum
balanceweneedtheexpressionsfortheconvectivemomentumfluxesgiveninTable1.71and
themolecularmomentumfluxesgiveninTable1.21.Isimportantthatthemolecular
momentumfluxincludesboththepressureandtheviscouscontributions.

Themomentumbalanceisappliedonlytosystemsinwhichthereisjustonevelocity
componentinthischapter,butitcanbeappliedtosysteminwhichhasmorethanonevelocity
component,whichdependsononlyonespatialvariable,alsotheflowmustberectilinear.

Thestepsforsettingupandsolvingviscousproblemsare:
1. Identifythenonvanishingvelocitycomponentandthespatialvariableonwhichitdepends.
2. Applythemomentumbalanceoverathinshellperpendiculartotherelevantspatial
variable.
3. Findthelimitwhenthethicknessoftheshellapproachzeroandmakeuseofthedefinition
ofthefirstderivativetoobtainthecorrespondingdifferentialequationforthemomentum
flux.
4. Thenintegratethisequationtogetthemomentumfluxdistribution.
5. InsertNewton'slawofviscosityandobtainadifferentialequationforthevelocity.
6. Integratethisequationtogetthevelocitydistribution.
7. Usethevelocitydistributiontogetotherquantities,suchasthemaximumvelocity,average
velocity,orforceonsolidsurfaces.

Thesestepsmentionedsomeintegration,severalconstantsofintegrationappear,andthese
areevaluatedbyusingboundaryconditionsthatisstatementsaboutthevelocityorstress
attheboundariesofthesystem.Themostcommonlyusedboundaryconditionsareas
follows:

A. Atsolidfluidinterfacesthefluidvelocityequalsthevelocitywithwhichthesolid
surfaceismoving.Thisstatementisappliedtoboththetangentialandthenormal
componentofthevelocityvector.Theequalityofthetangentialcomponentsisreferred
toasthe"noslipcondition.

B. Atliquidliquidinterfacialplaneofconstantx,thetangentialvelocitycomponentsVy
andVzarecontinuousthroughtheinterface(the"noslipcondition")asarealsothe
molecularstresstensorcomponentsp+

xx, xyand xz.

C. Ataliquidgasinterfacialplaneofconstantx,thestresstensorcomponents

xyand xz

aretakentobezero,providedthatthegassidevelocitygradientisnottoolarge.Thisis
logical,sincetheviscositiesofgasesaremuchlessthanthoseofliquids.

Inalloftheseboundaryconditionsitissupposedthatthereisnomaterialpassingthrough
theinterfacethatis,thereisnoadsorption,absorption,dissolution,evaporation,melting,or
chemicalreactionatthesurfacebetweenthetwophases.

2.2FLOWOFAFALLINGFILM

ThisexampleshowaflowofaliquidaninclinedflatplateoflengthLandwidthW,asshown
intheFigure.Weconsidertheviscosityanddensityofthefluidtobeconstant.Acomplete
descriptionoftheliquidflowisdifficultbecauseofthedisturbancesattheedgesofthe
system(z=0,z=L,y=0,y=W).

Adescriptioncanoftenbeobtainedbyneglectingsuchdisturbances,particularlyifWandL
arelargecomparedtothefilmthickness.

Forsmallflowratesweexpectthattheviscousforceswillpreventcontinuedaccelerationof
theliquiddownthewall,sothatV,willbecomeindependentofzinashortdistancedown
theplate.

AsaresultitseemsreasonabletopostulatethatVz=Vz(x),Vx,=0andVy=0andfurtherthat
p=p(x).Thenonvanishingcomponentsof arethen

xz= zx,=(dVz/dx).

Select as the "system" a thin shell perpendicular to the x direction. Then we set up a z
momentumbalanceoverthisshell,whichisaregionofthicknessx,boundedbytheplanes
z=0andz=L,andextendingadistanceWintheydirection.

Usingthecomponentsofthe"combinedmomentumfluxtensor" definedintables1.71
to3,wecanincorporateallthepotentialmechanismsformomentumtransportatonce:

Usingthequantitiesxz andzz weaccountforthezmomentumtransportbyall

mechanisms,convectiveandmolecular.

Rateofzmomentuminacrosssurfaceatz=0

(W x)zz/z=0

Rateofzmomentumoutacrosssurfaceatz=L

(W x)zz/z=L

Rateofzmomentuminacrosssurfaceatx

(LW)( xz)/x

Rateofzmomentumoutacrosssurfacex+x

(LW)( xz)/x+x

Gravityforceactingonfluidinthezdirection

(LW x)(gcos)

The"in"and"out"directionsinthedirectionofthepositivexandzaxes(inthisproblem
thesehappentocoincidewiththedirectionsofzmomentumtransport).

Whenthesetermsaresubstitutedintothezmomentumbalance,weget:

LW(xz xxz x+x)+Wx(zz z=0zz z=L)+(LWX)(gcos)=0

9 Inthisfigurexisthethicknessoverwhichazmomentumbalanceismade.Arrowsshow
themomentumfluxesrelatedwiththesurfacesoftheshell.SinceVxandVyarebothzero,
VyVzandVyVzarezero.Vydoesnotdependonyandz,

yz =0and zz =0.Alsothedashed

underlinedfluxesdonotneedtobeconsidered.BothpandVzVzarethesameatz=0andz
=L,andasaresultdonotappearinthebalanceofzmomentum.

Shellmomentumbalanceofafluidinafallingfilm:
I.

Assumption
1. L>>>W
2. L>>>
3. Length=z
Width=y
Thickness=x
4. Flowindirectionz

II.

Momentumfluxtensor,

ij=ij + vivj
i = coordinate
j = flux direction

ij=ij+vivj
zz=zz+vzvz=zz+p+vzvz=1,i=j
xz=xz+vxvz=0,ij
yz=yz+vyvz=0,ij

III.

IV.

Velocityandcomponents
(Note:Vzdoesnotcancel)

Vz=directionoffluxVz(z)=0
Vx=0Vz(x)0dependenceofVzinx
Vy=0Vz(y)=0

p=p(x)
MomentumBalance

In
Z

Out

Z=0
Wxzz|z=0

X=x
LWxz|x=x

Y=0
L xyz|y=0

Z=L
Wxzz|z=L
X=x+x
LWxz|x=x+x

Y=W
L xyz|y=W

Forceofgravity:(LWx)gcos

BalanceSubstitution

V.

Wx[zz|z=0zz|z=L]+LW[xz|x=xxz|x=x+x]+L x[yz|y=0yz|y=W]+(LWx)gcos=
0
in=out
Velocitydoesnotdependofy
zz=zz+p+vzvz
xz=xz+vxvz
yz=yz+vyvz

[zz|z=0zz|z=L]+

LW

[xz|x=xxz|x=x+x]+

=0

zdoesnotvary

+gcos=0

[yz|y=0yz|y=W]+

LW

gcos

lim

=gcos

gcos

DifferentialEquationofMomentum

xz=

xz=xz+vxvz=xz

gcos

SeparableIntegration:
xz=(gcos)x+C1

Boundaryconditions:

xz(x=0)=0
xz=0=(gcos)*0+C1
xz=(gcos)x

xz=

(gcos)x

Vz=

BoundaryConditions:

Vz(x=)=0
Vz=0=

(2)+C2


C2=
Vz=
=

(2)

(x22)
(2x2)(

Vz=

(1 )

VI.

VelocityandStressProfile

WithVzcanbecalculated:

Velocityaverage:

Force:

Thickness:

Massrate:

MaximumVelocity:

2.3FLOWTHROUGHACIRCULARTUBE
Whenanalyzinglaminarflowthroughacircularpipe,cylindricalcoordinatesareused.Lets
considerthisexample.Aliquidflowingdownwardundertheinfluenceofapressuredifference
andgravitythroughaverticaltubeoflengthLandradiusR.So,youmusttakeinto
considerationthefollowingassumptions:
SteadyState
LaminarFlow
constantdensity,
constantviscosity,
NoEndEffects(tubelengthisverylargewithrespecttothetuberadius,sothattheseend
effectswillbeunimportantL>>R)

Postulates:(Lookatthecoordinatesysteminthediagram)

Vz=Vz(r)
Vr=0
V=0
Vz(z)=0
Vz()=0
Vz(r) 0
p=p(z)

FromthesetermswhenyougotoTableB.1/AppendixBonyourBSLbook(pg.844)the
nonvanishingcomponentsof arerzandzr,becauseofthepostulatesshownabove.
Whenmakingamomentumbalance,youfirstneedtolookatwherethemomentumis
generatedwhenthefluidisflowingdownward.Momentumisgeneratedinzandrdirections
asseeninthecoordinatesystembelowandwecanputthiscoordinatesysteminhalfofour
cylindertoanalyzeit.

Thequantitiesof and accountforthe

momentumtransportbyallpossiblemechanisms,convectiveandmolecular.Asforthevalues
ofthose momentums,andyourenotsurehowtoevaluatethem,Table1.21(pg.17),Table
1.71(pg.35)andequation1.72(pg.36)canhelp.Rememberyouwilleventuallyneedthese
valueswhenmakingshellbalances.Thereforeifwehave,

Then,

Ok,sobacktoourmomentumbalance.Weselectoursystemasacylindrialshellofthickness
andlengthL.Weevaluatethemomentuminandoutofthisshellandwecanthenlistthe
contributions:

Directions

In

r=r2

z=02

Out

z=L2

Norateofmomentuminthis
direction

Norateofmomentuminthis
direction

Gravityforceactinginzdirectiononcylindricalshell 2

*Notethatthoseinandoutareinthepositivedirectionoftherandzaxes.
Wenowmakeourmomentumbalancebasedonequation2.11(pg.41)fromyourBSLbook:
2

Wethendividethisequationby2
|

toget:

Thesameas,
|

Bytakingthelimitoftheequationontheleftsidewhenr0,weget:
lim

Andbydefinition,
lim

Therefore,
|

Nowweevaluatethecomponents

and

withthevaluesinAppendixB.1:
2

(*Remember:Vr=0)
Bysubstitutingthesevaluesin
2

and

Wenowhavethefollowingsimplifications:
1) BecausewehaveVz=Vz(r),theterm
|
|
2) BecausewehaveVz=Vz(r),theterm 2

willbethesameatbothendsofthetube.
willbethesameatbothendsofthe

tube.
2

Sonowourequationsturnsinto:

Withthesepressuredifferences,wecannowusemodifiedpressures.Letstakealookatthe
diagramfirst:

wherePisthemodifiedpressure

Byusingseparableequationsandintegrating:

TolookforthevalueofconstantC1,weusecertainboundaryconditionstosimplifyour
problem.Letslookatthefollowingdiagram,wherewecanwatchthevelocityprofile:

BoundaryCondition1:

Whenr=0,

=0

Therefore,C1=0andbysubstituting
B.2)

withNewtonsLawofViscosity(obtainedfromApendix

weobtain:

Integratingthisfirstorderdifferentialequationweobtain:

ThisnewconstantC2isevaluatedfromtheboundarycondition
B.C.2:

atr=R,

vz=0
4

Then,fromthisC2isfoundtobe:

.Hence,thevelocitydistributionis:
1

Weseethatthevelocitydistributionforlaminar,incompressibleflowofaNewtonianfluidina
longtubeisparabolic.

Oncethevelocityprofilehasbeenestablished,variousderivedquantitiescanbeobtained:
(i) Themaximumvelocity

occursatr=0andis:

(ii) Theaveragevelocityis
crosssectionalarea

isobtainedbydividingthetotalvolumetricflowratebythe
1
2

(iii) Themassrateflowwistheproductofthecrosssectionalarea
theaveragevelocity

,thedensity,and

ThisratherfamousresultiscalledtheHagenPoiseuilleequation.Itisused,alongwith
experimentaldatafortherateofflowandthemodifiedpressuredifference,to
determinetheviscosityoffluids(seeExample2.31)inacapillaryviscometer.

(iv) Thezcomponentoftheforce ,oftheFluidonthewettedsurfaceofthepipeisjust

theshearstress integratedoverthewettedarea

Theresultstatesthattheviscousforce iscounterbalancedbythenetpressureforce
andthegravitationalforce.

Theresultsofthissectionareonlyasgoodasthepostulatesintroducedatthebeginning
ofthesection,namelythat
and
.
ExperimentshaveshownthatthesepostulatesareinfactrealizedforReynoldsnumbers
upto2100;abovethatvalue,theflowwillbeturbulentifthereareanyappreciable
disturbancesinthesystem,thatis,wallroughnessorvibrations.

ForcirculartubestheReynoldsnumberisdefinedby
thetubediameter.

,whereD=2Ris

WenowsummarizealltheassumptionsthatweremadeinobtainingtheHagenPoiseuille
equation.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Theflowislaminar(Re<2100)
Densityisconstant(incompressibleflow)
Theflowissteady(i.e.doesnotchangewithtime)
ThefluidisNewtonian
Endeffectsareneglected.Actuallyanentrancelength,afterthetubeentranceof
theorderofLe=0.035DRe,isneededforthebuildupoftheparabolicprofiles.Ifthe
sectionofthepipeofinterestincludestheentranceregion,acorrectionmustbe
applied.Thefractionalcorrectioninthepressuredifferenceormassrateofflow
neverexceedsLe/LifL>Le.
(f) Thefluidbehavesasacontinuum,thisassumptionisvalid,exceptforverydilute
gasesorverynarrowcapillarytubes,inwhichthemolecularmeanfreepathis
comparabletothetubediameter(theslipflowregion)ormuchgreaterthanthe
tubediameter(theKundsenfloworfreemoleculeflowregime).
(g) Thereisnoslipatthewall,sothatB.C.2isvalid;thisisanexcellentassumptionfot
purefluidsundertheconditionsassumedin(f).

2.4FLUJOATRAV
VSDEUNA
ANULO

Caso particulare
encoordenadascilndricasdeunfluidoviscoso atravsde unanulo.Un
fluido
o incompren
nsible fluye en estado estacionario
e
o a travs dee la regin comprendid
da
entreedoscilindro
oscircularesscoaxialesderadioskRyyR.

Comeenzamos effectuando un
u balance de cantidaad de moviimiento sob
bre una fin
na
envoltura cilndrrica, y se lleega a la misma ecuaciin diferenccial que se ha obtenid
do
anterriormentepaaraelflujoeenuntubo

TngaaseencuentaqueparaesteproblemaP=p+pggz,puestoq
quelasfuerzasdepresi
n
y graavedad actaan en direccciones opueestas. Esta ecuacin
e
diferencial se integra, parra
obten
ner

La constante C1 no pued
de determin
narse de forma
f
inmeediata, puessto que no
o,

dispo
onemosdeinformacin acercadelaadensidadd
deflujo,de cantidaddeemovimientto
enningunadelaasdossuperrficiesr=kRo
or=R.Lomsquepodeemosdecir esquehad
de
existiirunmximo
odelacurvaadevelocidadenuncieertoplano(h
hastaahoradesconocido
o)
r=R,, para el cu
ual la densid
dad de flujo
o de cantidad de moviimiento ha de ser cero
o.
Tenieendoestoen
ncuenta,pu
uedesubstittuirseC1po
or
quelaecuacinaanteriorsetransformaeen

,conllo

Nteseque estodavaunaconstanteedeintegraccindesconocida.La n
nicaraznd
de
habersubstituido
oC1poressqueconocemoselsign
nificadofsicode.Subsstituyendoeen
laecu
uacinanterriorlaleydeelaviscosidaaddeNewto
on
ecuaccindiferencial:

seeobtieneestta

Integgrandoconrespectoar:

Ahoraapuedenevvaluarselasd
dosconstantesdeintegracinyC2
2,utilizando
olasdos
siguieentescondiccioneslmitee:

CL1:
parar=kR
vz=0
CL2:

p
parar=R

vz=0

Substtituyendoesstascondicio
oneslmitesenlaecuacinanteriorseobtienen
nestasdos
ecuaccionessimulltneas

Seresuelveysee
encuentra

Substtituyendoesstosvalores enlasecuacionesanterrioresseobttienen,resp
pectivamentee,
la disstribucin de
d densidad de flujo dee cantidad de
d movimieento y la disstribucin de
d
veloccidad, para el flujo inco
ompresible en estado estacionario
o a travs do
d dos tubo
os
concntricosson:

2.5FLUJODEDOSLQUIDOSIMMISIBLESADYACENTES

Situacindelainterfasededoslquidos,estosfluyenendireccindelejedezconunalongitud
LyunanchoW,esteflujobajoungradientedepresinhorizontalexpresadocomo(p0p)/L.el
flujodeestosesajustadodemaneraquesedividanporsusdensidades.Elflujodebaserlo
suficientementelentoparaquenopresenteninestabilidadenlainterfasedeestos,estopara
encontrarelflujodemomentumylavelocidaddedistribucin.
Ecuacindiferencialparaflujodemomentun

Alintegrallaecuacinanteriorseobtiene

Dosflujosimmisiblesentredosplacesparalelasdonaplicacindeungradientedepresin

HaciendousoinmediatodeBoundaryconditions,dondeelfluidodemomentunescontinuode
lainterfaselquidoliquido

B.C.1:atx=0,
Las

sernlaconstantesdelaintegra,estasiguala

Lasustituirlaleudeviscosidaddenewtons,enFig.2.52y2.53obtenemos

Estassepuedenentegrarparaobtener

LastresconstantesdeintegracionsepuedendeterminarsiguiendoNoslipB.C.
I
B.C.2:atx=0,v z=VIIz
B.C.3:atx=b,v=0
B.C.4:atx=+b,v=0

Cuandoestastrescondicionessonaplicadas,conseguimostresecuacionessimultneas
paralasconstantesdelaintegracin:

Deestastresecuacionesconseguimos

Losresultadosdelflujodemomentunyperfildevelocidadson

Siambasviscosidadessoniguales,despusdeladistribucindelavelocidadesparablica
Lavelocidadmediaencadacapapuedeserobtenidayresultara

Lasdistribucionesdelavelocidaddadasarriba,sepodraobtenerlavelocidadmxima,la
velocidadenlainterfase,elplanocerodelestrscortante,ylafriccinenlasparedes.

Anteriormentesehansolucionadoproblemasdeflujosviscosos.Sehantratadosolo
componentesrectilneosconuncomponentedevelocidad.Elflujoalrededordeunaesfera
aplicadoscomponentesnonvanishingdelavelocidad,vryvnosepuedeexplicar
convenientementeporlastcnicasexplicadasalprincipiodeestecaptulo.Unabrevediscusin
delflujoalrededordeunaesferasedeterminaaqudebidoalaimportanciadelflujoalrededor
deobjetos.Enelcaptulo4sedemuestracmoobtenerlasdistribucionesdelavelocidadyde
presin.Aqusemuestralosresultadosycomopuedenserutilizadosparaciertasderivaciones
posteriormente.Aqucomoenelcaptulo4,setrabajaconelarrastredelflujo.(esteenunflujo
lento)
ConsideramosaquelflujodeunlquidoincompresiblesobreunaesferaslidadelradioRydel
dimetroDsegnlasindicacionesdefig.2.61.Ellquido,conladensidadpylaviscosidad

2.6CREEPINGFLOWAROUNDASPHERE

Theproblemtreatedhereisconcernedwith"creepingflow"thatis,veryslowflow.Thistypeof
flowisalsoreferredtoas"Stokesflow."Weconsiderheretheflowofanincompressiblefluid
aboutasolidsphereofradiusRanddiameterDasshowninFig.2.61.Thefluid,withdensity
andviscosity,approachesthefixedsphereverticallyupwardinthezdirectionwithauniform
velocity.Forthisproblem,"creepingflow"meansthattheReynoldsnumberRe=D/,is
lessthanabout0.1.Thisflowregimeischaracterizedbytheabsenceofeddyformation
downstreamfromthesphere.

Thevelocityandpressuredistributionsforthiscreepingfloware:

InthelastequationthequantityP0isthepressureintheplanez=0farawayfromthe
sphere.

Thetermpgzisthehydrostaticpressureresultingfromtheweightofthefluid,andthe
termcontainingvisthecontributionofthefluidmotion.

Equations2.61,2,and3showthatthefluidvelocityiszeroatthesurfaceofthesphere.

Furthermore,inthelimitasr,thefluidvelocityisinthezdirectionwithuniform
magnitudev;thisfollowsfromthefactthatvz=vrcosVsin,andvx=vy=0.

Thecomponentsofthestresstensorrinsphericalcoordinatesmaybeobtainedfromthe
velocitydistributionabovebyusingTableB.1.Theyare

andallothercomponentsarezero.Notethatthenormalstressesforthisflowarenonzero,
exceptatr=R.

IntegrationoftheNormalForce
Ateachpointonthesurfaceofthespherethefluidexertsaforceperunitarea(p+
rr)/r=Ronthesolid,actingnormaltothesurface.Sincethefluidisintheregionofgreaterrand
thesphereintheregionoflesserr,wehavetoaffixaminussigninaccordancewiththesign
conventionestablishedin1.2.Thezcomponentoftheforceis(p+rr)/r=R(cos).Wenow
multiplythisbyadifferentialelementofsurfaceR2sinddtogettheforceonthesurface
element(seeFig.A.82).Thenweintegrateoverthesurfaceofthespheretogettheresultant
normalforceinthezdirection:

AccordingtoEq.2.65,thenormalstressrriszero5atr=Randcanbeomittedintheintegralin
Eq.2.67.Thepressuredistributionatthesurfaceofthesphereis,accordingtoEq.2.64,

WhenthisissubstitutedintoEq.2.67andtheintegrationperformed,thetermcontainingp0
giveszero,thetermcontainingthegravitationalaccelerationggivesthebuoyantforce,andthe
termcontainingtheapproachvelocityvgivesthe"formdrag"asshownbelow:

Thebuoyantforceisthemassofdisplacedfluid(4/3R3)timesthegravitationalacceleration
(g).

IntegrationoftheTangentialForce
Ateachpointonthesolidsurfacethereisalsoashearstressactingtangentially.The
forceperunitareaexertedinthedirectionbythefluid(regionofgreaterr)onthesolid
(regionoflesserr)is+r/r=R .Thezcomponentofthisforceperunitareais(r/r=R)sin.We
nowmultiplythisbythesurfaceelementR2sinddandintegrateovertheentirespherical
surface.Thisgivestheresultantforceinthezdirection:

Theshearstressdistributiononthespheresurface,fromEq.2.66,is

SubstitutionofthisexpressionintotheintegralinEq.2.610givesthe"frictiondrag"

HencethetotalforceFofthefluidonthesphereisgivenbythesumofEqs.2.69and2.612:

or

Thefirsttermisthebuoyantforce,whichwouldbepresentinafluidatrest;itisthe
massofthedisplacedfluidmultipliedbythegravitationalacceleration.

Thesecondterm,thekineticforce,resultsfromthemotionofthefluid.

TherelationFk=6R(2.615)isknownasStokeslaw.

Itisusedindescribingthemotionofcolloidalparticlesunderanelectricfield,inthe
theoryofsedimentation,andinthestudyofthemotionofaerosolparticles.

Stokes'lawisusefulonlyuptoaReynoldsnumberRe=Dv/ofabout0.1.

AtRe=1,Stokes'lawpredictsaforcethatisabout10%.toolow.

Example
Derivearelationthatenablesonetogettheviscosityofafluidbymeasuringthe
terminalvelocitytofasmallsphereofradiusRinthefluid.

Ifasmallsphereisallowedtofallfromrestinaviscousfluid,itwillaccelerateuntilit
reachesaconstantvelocitytheterminalvelocity.

Whenthissteadystateconditionhasbeenreachedthesumofalltheforcesactingon
thespheremustbezero.

Theforceofgravityonthesolidactsinthedirectionoffall,andthebuoyantandkinetic
forcesactintheoppositedirection:

Herepsandparethedensitiesofthesolidsphereandthefluid.Solvingthisequation
fortheterminalvelocitygives

ThisresultmaybeusedonlyiftheReynoldsnumberislessthanabout0.1.