THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOLID PARTICLES SUSPENDED IN A TURBULENT FLOW:A STOCHASTIC APPROACH

Basic fluid mechanics and stochastic theories are applied to show that the concentration distributionof suspended solid particles in a direction normal to the mean streamlines of a two-dimensional turbulent flow isgreatly influenced by the lift force exerted on them in the vicinity of the wall.Analytic solution shows that,when thedirection of the mean flow is horizontal,the probability density function p(y,t)for random displacements of theparticles will have a maximum value at a point from the wall where the perpendicular component of the lift forceprecisely balances particle gravity.Interpretation of experimental observations is presented using this theory.