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Settling of inertial nonspherical particles in wavy flow
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Lab experiments showed that plastic particles of different shapes — rods, disks, and spheres — settle at different rates in wavy water, and waves can both speed up and slow down their sinking. Understanding how particle shape affects transport in ocean currents is key to predicting where microplastics accumulate.
Motivated by the problem of microplastics in the ocean, we experimentally investigate settling of plastic rods, disks, and spheres in wavy flows. We find that particle average vertical velocity can both increase and decrease in waves, relative to particle settling velocity in quiescent flow. This variation is a function of flow inertia at the particle length scale, characterized by particle Reynolds number Re${}_{p}$, and also of particle shape. We find that even though the relative vertical velocities between particles and flow remain constant with Re${}_{p}$, the particles nonuniformly sample the flow as a function of particle shape and Re${}_{p}$.
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Dispersion of finite-size, non-spherical particles by waves and currents
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Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to measure the dispersion of non-spherical, negatively buoyant particles — including discs, rods, and cylinders — in combined wave-current flows, providing empirical data relevant to understanding how microplastic particles of varying shapes travel through aquatic environments. Their results show that particle shape significantly influences dispersion patterns, with implications for predicting microplastic transport and distribution in coastal and riverine systems.
Sedimentation of Irregular Shaped Microplastics Under Steady and Dynamic Flow Conditions
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Researchers conducted experiments to study how irregularly shaped microplastic particles settle under both steady and turbulent water flow conditions, finding that shape significantly affects sinking rates in ways not captured by models designed for spherical particles. Improved understanding of how real-world plastic particle shapes affect transport is needed for accurate environmental fate modeling.
Settling velocity of microplastic particles having regular and irregular shapes
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Researchers measured how quickly microplastic particles of various shapes settle through water, testing 66 different particle types including spheres, cylinders, fibers, and irregular fragments. They found that particle shape significantly affects settling speed, with fibers and flat shapes sinking more slowly than spheres of the same size. The study provides new equations for predicting where microplastics end up in oceans and waterways based on their shape.
Transport of anisotropic particles under waves
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A computer model showed that non-spherical particles (like many microplastic fragments and fibers) behave differently from spherical ones in wave-driven water flow, affecting how they orient and where they travel. Accounting for particle shape is important for accurately predicting where microplastic debris accumulates in coastal and ocean environments.
Settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastics under steady and dynamic flow conditions
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The settling velocities of irregularly shaped microplastics were measured under both still water and dynamic flow conditions, finding that shape strongly affected settling speed and that turbulence caused non-spherical particles to orient and settle differently than spheres, with implications for predicting microplastic vertical transport in rivers and coastal waters.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.