Viscosity-induced instability of a one-dimensional lattice of falling spheres

When a layer of particles moves through a viscous liquid it experiences forces which tend to disrupt the layer into clusters of particles separated by open channels. A theoretical description of this process is presented and a viscous instability is predicted. The spatial growth of the instability is approximated by e^γz, where \[ \gamma = {\textstyle\frac{3}{2}} a/d^2, \] where a is the particle radius and d is the average distance between particles. This result implies that any initial irregularity in a uniform particle distribution will be amplified by viscous forces alone. Significant amplification will occur when the particle has drifted a small multiple of the separation distance, if this separation is not much greater than the particle diameter. Thus, any initially uniform particle layer will form clusters as it drifts through a viscous fluid. The distance in which this clustering occurs will be unaffected by changes in the particle velocity, as long as the Reynolds number remains small. The preferred form of irregularity will consist of small clusters separated by individual particles which trail some distance behind. Experimental verification of these conclusions is presented.