An Analysis of Nanoparticle Settling Times in Liquids

Abstract

Aggregation and settling are crucial phenomena involving particle suspensions. For suspensions with larger than millimeter-size particles, there are fairly accurate tools to predict settling rates. However for smaller particles, in particular micro-to-nanosizes, there is a gap in knowledge. This paper develops an analytical method to predict the settling rates of micro-to-nanosized particle suspensions. The method is a combination of classical equations and graphical methods. Validated using the experimental data in literature, it was found that the new method shows an order of magnitude accuracy. A remarkable feature of this method is its ability to accommodate aggregates of nonspherical shapes and of different fractal dimensions.