A numerical study of steady viscous flow past a fluid sphere

This paper presents a computational study of the steady viscous flow of a f luid over a spherical drop or bubble of another immiscible fluid. Numerical solutions have been obtained for external Reynolds numbers up to 500. The range of viscosity ratio is from 0.01 to 100.0. The density ratio varies be tween the same limits. The finite difference method was employed to discret ize the model equations. A nested DC algorithm solved the nonlinear algebra ic systems. Flow separation, the effect of internal Re number on the flow p attern and the computations of the drag coefficients are analysed. Vortex, velocity and pressure distributions on the drop surface are presented. The values obtained for drag coefficients are compared with the solutions provi ded by published predictive equations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All r ights reserved.