Interfacial Instability of Particulate Suspension in Narrow Channel

The gravitational settling of particulate suspension in a narrow channel has been studied experimentally and theoretically. In our previous study, it has been found that the gravity-induced instability of suspension-fluid interface governs the particle settling motion and the suspension behaves as a continuous fluid for high concentration and small particle size. The purpose of this study is to investigate how such a suspension-fluid interface behaves in a narrow channel. The experimental and theoretical results indicate that the aspect ratio of the channel cross-section is an important parameter for describing the settling behavior of particulate suspension.