In this study a new experimental technique, particle image shadowgraph (PIS), is used to investigate the settling velocity of natural sand particles in Power-law fluids. The particle settling velocity measurements are conducted within the Reynolds number of range of 0.01 to 17.00. Natural sands with mean sieve diameters in the range, 0.35 mm – 1.4 mm, are used. Six different equivalent diameter definitions are used to characterize size of the natural sand particles. Using the size and shape measurements in conjunction with PIS, correlations between the mean sieve diameter and equivalent diameters are obtained.
Empirical correlations for predicting the settling velocity of sand particles in Power-law fluids are developed. Multiple linear regression analyses are performed with each fluid data and empirical coefficients for the models are also reported as functions of n and K. The models presented in the study give an average error of less than 20%. In addition, the multiple linear regression tools are applied to enhance the efficiency of the correlations by 3–5%. One of the major contributions of this study is that one can use any associated diameter to predict the settling velocity, which leads to greater flexibility.
