The University of Wisconsin-Madison received a $310,100 three-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to study particle settling regimes in turbulent flows. The university will conduct experimental research and develop an undergraduate research program focused on understanding how finite-sized particles interact with turbulence at different length scales and Reynolds numbers above unity. Researchers will operate new high-speed camera equipment in an octagonal turbulence chamber to identify scaling parameters capturing turbulence effects on particle settling rates across a range of sizes, densities, and concentrations. It is expected this work will lead to a new predictive model to inform water treatment and ecosystem engineering designs by establishing mechanisms influencing particle settling based on scaling laws collapsing data from various conditions.
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