ABSTRACT
Hydrodynamically-induced turbulent shear is an important driver of the flocculation process especially in the case of orthokinetic aggregation of particles. The floc growth and stability in any flocculated system has been suggested to be a function fluid-particle interaction and the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the floc. The dynamics of these interactions affects all facets of the flocculation process and the degree of aggregation in any sheared system. The hydrodynamics and transport process in natural and engineered systems is often controlled more by the fluid properties, in this case the mixing rate of the fluid, than by chemical properties of the particles such as the molecular diffusivity. Floc stability under the influence of hydrodynamic force has been suggested to be a function of floc binding or cohesive force FB, and hydrodynamic breaking force FH. Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for the disruption of aggregates in orthokinetic flocculation.
