Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
An interpretation of partial plug flow of concentrated suspensions
1Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0412.
Abstract:
The partial plug flow of a concentrated suspension of rigid particles in a circular tube has been previously studied experimentally. It has been shown that a central core may exist in which the mean velocities of the particles and the suspending fluid are equal and constant within a cylindrical core of the flow. This behavior has been attributed to hydrodynamic interaction of the particles within the core. In the present analysis this interaction is interpreted in terms of passing vs. non-passing motions of adjacent particles. A hypothesis of a critical parameter alpha c involving the shear stress and the pressure gradient is explored and a new form of the relation of core diameter to particle size and concentration is developed based on alpha c.
Related Concept Videos
Colloids and Suspensions
Colloidal precipitates
Theories of Dissolution: The Danckwerts' Model and Interfacial Barrier Model
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Dimensional Analysis
In fluid mechanics, dimensional...

