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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Response of microplastic particles to turbulent flow: An experimental study
ClearEntrainment and vertical mixing of aquatic microplastics in turbulent flow: The coupled role of particle size and density
Researchers conducted laboratory flume experiments to study how turbulence affects the vertical mixing and entrainment of microplastic particles of different sizes and densities. Both particle size and polymer density significantly influenced mixing behavior, with smaller and denser particles more responsive to turbulent structures, informing models of microplastic transport in rivers and coastal waters.
Settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastics under steady and dynamic flow conditions
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.
Microplastics Transport in Turbulent Flow: Investigating the Effects of Physical Characteristics and Flow Dynamics
This PhD dissertation investigated how the physical properties of microplastics — density, size, and shape — affect their transport and mixing in turbulent aquatic flows using numerical simulations and experiments. Lower-density, smaller, and non-spherical particles deviate most from fluid streamlines, explaining why these types are found far from their sources.
Modeling the settling and resuspension of microplastics in rivers: Effect of particle properties and flow conditions
Researchers developed a mathematical model to simulate how microplastics of different shapes settle and resuspend in rivers, moving beyond the common assumption that all particles are spherical. They found that turbulence has a complex effect, sometimes keeping particles suspended longer and sometimes accelerating their settling, depending on flow conditions. The model reveals that particle shape significantly influences where microplastics end up in river systems.
Settling velocity of microplastics in turbulent open-channel flow
Researchers studied how microplastic particles settle in turbulent river-like flow conditions compared to still water and developed a new formula to predict their behavior. They found that turbulence altered settling velocities by as much as 26% depending on particle properties, with larger, heavier particles being less influenced by water turbulence. The findings are important for building better models of how microplastics are transported and distributed in rivers and other flowing waterways.
Plastic drift : Mapping the course of microplastic transport in turbulent riverine flows.
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments tracking the 3D trajectories of 24 negatively buoyant microplastic particles spanning a range of sizes, shapes, and densities in turbulent open channel flow, generating 720 trajectories to evaluate how well conventional sediment transport models apply to microplastics. Results revealed that the inherent variability in microplastic physical properties challenges direct application of sediment transport concepts to microplastic fate prediction in rivers.
Evidence of Microplastic Size Impact on Mobility and Transport in the Marine Environment: A Review and Synthesis of Recent Research
This review synthesized evidence on how microplastic particle size affects transport and dispersal in the marine environment, finding that size critically influences turbulent entrainment, settling velocity, and resuspension, analogous to well-established natural sediment transport dynamics.
Plastic drift : Mapping the course of microplastic transport in turbulent riverine flows.
Researchers investigated the transport dynamics of 24 negatively buoyant microplastic particles across a spectrum of sizes, shapes, and densities using a 3D particle tracking system in turbulent open channel flow, generating 720 trajectories. They found that particle shape was the dominant determinant of transport behavior, with fibers tending to remain near the water surface at lower forward velocities while spheres stayed closer to the bed with higher forward velocities.
Turbulence-sediment synergy controls buoyant microplastic settling in the three gorges reservoir
Laboratory experiments showed that turbulence and sediment concentration interact synergistically to control the settling and resuspension of buoyant microplastics in water. Understanding these coupled dynamics is essential for modeling microplastic transport and deposition in rivers and coastal zones.
Mobility and retention of microplastic fibers and irregular plastic fragments in fluvial systems: an experimental flume study
Researchers conducted experimental flume studies to compare the mobility and retention of microplastic fibres and irregularly shaped plastic fragments in fluvial systems. The study found that particle shape strongly influences transport behaviour, with fibres exhibiting greater mobility and distinct retention patterns compared to irregular fragments, highlighting the need to move beyond spherical particle models in microplastic transport research.
Investigating Microplastic Resuspension in Environmental flows: Experimental and Numerical Approaches
Researchers used combined experimental and numerical approaches to investigate the resuspension of microplastics from sediment beds in riverine flows, finding that turbulence intensity during high-flow events plays a key role in detaching MP particles embedded in multi-density granular sediment beds.
Migration behaviors of microplastics in sediment-bearing turbulence: Aggregation, settlement, and resuspension
This study explored how turbulent shear flow affects microplastic aggregation with suspended sediment and the resulting vertical migration behavior. Smaller microplastics aggregated more readily with sediment particles, dramatically increasing their settlement rate and potentially causing secondary pollution when bottom sediments are resuspended by turbulence.
Coupled CFD-DEM modelling to assess settlement velocity and drag coefficient of microplastics
Researchers used computational fluid dynamics coupled with particle simulations to model how the size, shape, and density of microplastics affect their settling velocity and drag in water. Accurate physical models of microplastic behavior are essential for predicting where particles accumulate in rivers, lakes, and the ocean.
The role of turbulence in the deposition of intrinsically buoyant MPs
This flume study found that turbulence causes the vertical velocity of buoyant polyethylene microplastics to vary over 4 orders of magnitude compared to their rise rate in still water, explaining how lighter-than-water particles end up deposited in river and lake sediments.
Computational Analysis of Microplastics Hydrodynamics in Laboratory Experiment
Researchers conducted computational simulations of microplastic hydrodynamics in an open channel using OpenFOAM with turbulent flow modelling, validating the simulation against laboratory experimental results and examining how particle properties influence settling behaviour.
Sedimentation of microplastics interacting with sediment
Researchers conducted laboratory settling velocity experiments for 12 different microplastic types with varying shapes in both clear and turbid water, finding that the simultaneous presence of suspended sediments significantly alters MP settling behaviour in ways not captured by existing models that assume clean water conditions.
Experimental study on the motion characteristics and critical hydraulic parameters of microplastics in a freshwater environment
Researchers conducted hydraulic flume experiments and force analyses to determine critical flow velocity thresholds for microplastic initiation, transport, and resuspension in freshwater environments, finding that settling velocities ranged from 0.05 to 0.17 m/s and that higher density, rougher surfaces, and flake-like shapes all increased the critical flow velocity required for microplastic movement.
The role of biofilm and hydrodynamics on the fate of microplastic particles in rivers: an experimental study
Researchers conducted flume and field experiments to examine how biofilm formation and hydrodynamic conditions govern the fate of microplastic particles in rivers, investigating why some MP-polluted rivers crossing industrialized areas show no significant upstream-to-downstream concentration differences. The study identified biofilm-mediated density changes and turbulence as key factors controlling whether low-density MPs remain suspended or settle into sediments.
Study of the influence of fluvial dynamics on the distribution and transport of microplastics.
Researchers studied how fluvial dynamics, including water flow, turbulence, and river morphology, influence microplastic distribution and transport in a river system. The study found that hydrological conditions strongly control where microplastics deposit and how they move through the watershed.
Effects of Shape and Size on Microplastic Atmospheric Settling Velocity
Researchers measured atmospheric settling and horizontal drift velocities of various microplastic shapes and sizes in controlled settling chambers, providing empirical data needed to improve atmospheric transport models that explain how microplastics reach remote environments.
Study of the influence of fluvial dynamics on the distribution and transport of microplastics.
Researchers studied how fluvial dynamics including flow velocity, turbulence, and river geomorphology influence the distribution and transport of microplastics in river systems. River hydrodynamics were found to be major determinants of where microplastics accumulate and how far they travel, with implications for predicting contamination patterns in river catchments.
Transport dynamics of microplastics from land to sea: the role of particle properties and stream morphology.
Researchers measured how particle properties including size, density, and polymer type interact with stream morphology to determine microplastic transport distances in 15 streams. Both plastic characteristics and stream structure independently influenced how far microplastics travel before settling, with implications for estimating fluxes to the ocean.
A Laboratory Dataset on Transport and Deposition of Spherical and Cylindrical Large Microplastics for Validation of Numerical Models
This paper presents a laboratory dataset on the transport and deposition of spherical microplastic particles under controlled flow conditions, providing empirical data on how particle size and flow velocity influence settling and lateral dispersion. The dataset is intended to support calibration of microplastic transport models.
Effect of Shape and Size on the Transport of Floating Particles on the Free Surface in a Natural Stream
Researchers used particle tracking velocimetry to study how shape and size affect the movement of floating particles on the turbulent free surface of a natural stream, finding that millimeter-scale spheres behaved differently from centimeter-scale irregular objects. Understanding particle transport mechanics is essential for predicting microplastic fate in river systems.