Deposition of fine solid particles in laminar flat-plate boundary layers

A method for the assessment of the deposition of fine solid particles in a vertical two-phase laminar flat-plate boundary layer is presented. The method is based on a probabilistic approach to the particles deposition and takes into account both the hydrodynamics of the flow past the plate and the adhesive properties of particles and the plate surface. Electrocorundum powders with particle sizes of 12, 23 and 32 pm were used for the investigations. A stainless steel hollow conical shape was used as a prototype surface for the particles deposition. The experimental investigation used the centrifugal technique for the deposition of particles and examined pairs of particles and surfaces for the characteristics of the deposition process. The results exhibited the typical log-normal distributions of the dependence of the deposition/adhesion process. An overall expression for the particles deposition flux was derived. The expression includes the normal to the surface velocity of the particles, the particle mass concentration observed immediately close to the surface of the plate and the probability function of the entrainment of particles by the surface of the plate. The hydrodynamic properties of the dispersed phase in the vicinity of the plate surface, namely the normal velocity and the particle mass concentration, were calculated by the mathematical model of the flat-plate laminar boundary layer elaborated in [1]. The validation of the proposed method of assessment of deposition was accomplished by comparing the deposition flux calculated along the plate with experimental data obtained in [2]. A small discrepancy between the numerical and experimental results was observed, which may be attributed to neglecting the microphysics of adhesion, such as the influence of the electric charges and humidity during the experiments.