PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS 10, L062301 (2025)

Letter

Stokesian settling from quiescence: Experiments and theory on history effects

and unsteady flow structures

Tomek Jaroslawski ,1,* Divya Jaganathan ,2 Rama Govindarajan ,2 and Beverley J. McKeon 1
1
Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
2
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Survey No. 151,
Shivakote Village, Hesaraghatta Hobli, Bengaluru 560 089, India

(Received 3 September 2024; revised 5 March 2025; accepted 25 April 2025;

published 2 June 2025)

Our experiments on a sphere falling from rest under gravity in Stokes flow show the
development of unsteady flow structures and significant history effects. Unlike in steady
Stokes flow, we observe a vortex ring forming around the sphere and drifting away, which
is captured by our unsteady Stokes theory. Consistently, we observe an algebraic, not
exponential, relaxation rate of the sphere to its terminal velocity, validating the Basset-
Boussinesq-Oseen equation, which is based on unsteady Stokes theory. As the Reynolds
number nears unity, the vortex ring lags behind the sphere, departing from Stokesian theory,
though the sphere’s algebraic response persists. These findings are critical for particle
interactions in the Stokes limit.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.10.L062301

Numerous natural phenomena involve particles settling in fluid flows, whose short-time dy-
namics are crucial for accurately predicting this transient process. Examples include the vertical
sinking of surface phytoplankton as marine snow, which influences the carbon cycle [1–3], the
growth and aggregation, into raindrops, of falling cloud droplets [4] and the settling of volcanic ash
[5,6]. Further, in oncological studies, sedimentation dynamics of cells are essential for sorting and
isolation [7].
A nontrivial hydrodynamic effect evident in the transient dynamics of particles in viscosity-
dominated flows is due to the history force, which is the result of a finite-time inertial response
of the surrounding fluid. There is growing evidence for the significance of history forces in
unsteady particle and bubble dynamics within viscous flows. Theoretical studies predict that particle
relaxation to an asymptotic state follows a slow algebraic rate rather than an exponential one due to
the history effects, depending on the physical context [8–13].
Experiments and simulations too have highlighted the effects of the history force. Particles
released into vortex cores [10] and microbubbles trapped in standing waves or propelled by
ultrasound [14,15] exhibit strong sensitivity to history forces. In chaotic advection, particles display
nontrivial trajectory modifications due to history effects [16]. For particles settling under gravity,
the work by Guseva et al. [17] predicts that the history force alters the motion of nearly neutrally
buoyant particles in turbulent flows, leading to distinct trajectories and slow convergence to an
asymptotic settling velocity. At intermediate Reynolds numbers, Mordant and Pinton [18] conducted
experiments on a sphere settling under gravity and observed increased settling times and an initial
approach to terminal state at a rate t −1/2 , where t is time, which is consistent with the effects of
history force. Similarly, for smaller Reynolds numbers, Vodop’yanov et al. [19] experimentally

*
Contact author: [email protected]

2469-990X/2025/10(6)/L062301(10) L062301-1 ©2025 American Physical Society

 TOMEK JAROSLAWSKI et al.

observed that particles settling under gravity exhibited reduced vertical displacement and velocity
compared to models that do not include the history force. Despite these insights into the effects
of history force on the sedimentation dynamics, the induced unsteady flow field remains relatively
understudied.
In this letter, we present experiments and theory on a spherical particle settling in an initially qui-
escent fluid and the induced flow at low particle Reynolds numbers, Re p < 1. Here, Re p = d pUT /ν
is based on particle’s diameter d p , its terminal velocity, UT , which serves as a representative velocity
scale and is defined later, while ν denotes the fluid’s kinematic viscosity. We validate the solution
of the Basset-Boussinesq-Oseen equation (BBOE) with the history forces [13,20] governing the
particle’s motion against experimental data. We obtain the induced unsteady flow experimentally
and theoretically for small Re p . Additionally, we highlight the influence of finite fluid inertia,
measured by Re p in our experiments, on both particle dynamics and the evolving flow field.
A simple model for hydrodynamic forces on an accelerating particle at small Re p accounting
for fluid’s finite-time response to particle’s motion is based on unsteady Stokes theory, which
selectively neglects the nonlinear convective inertia term in the Navier-Stokes equation. In this
theory, a spherical particle’s instantaneous position y(t ) and velocity v(t ) in an incompressible,
undisturbed flow field u0 (x, t ) evolve from their initial state [y(0), v(0)] according to
ẏ = v(t ), (1)
and the Maxey-Riley equation (MRE) [21–23]
18ρ f ρf 3ρ f Du0
ρ p v̇ = −  2  {v(t ) − u0 (y(t ), t )} + (ρ p − ρ f )g − v̇ + (y(t ), t )
d p /ν 2 2 Dt
  t 
9ρ f v(0) − u0 (y(0), 0) v̇(τ ) − u̇0 (y(τ ), τ )
− √ + √ dτ , (2)
d 2 /ν πt 0 π (t − τ )
p

with Faxén terms omitted for a sufficiently small particle. Here, ρ p and ρ f are the particle and fluid
densities, respectively, and g is the gravitational acceleration. The overdots represent Lagrangian
derivatives in time (t) and material derivative D/Dt denotes time derivative following the fluid’s
motion.
For a particle settling under gravity in a quiescent flow (u0 ≡ 0), the MRE reduces to the
nondimensional BBOE (see, e.g., Ref. [20])
   t 
1 3 v(0) v̇(τ )
Rv̇ = − v(t ) + (R − 1)g − √ + √ dτ . (3)
S πS t 0 t −τ
The equation is nondimensionalized using a timescale Tc characteristic of the particle acceleration
at early times, and the particle’s terminal velocity UT = [(β − 1)d p2 g]/(18ν) with β = ρ p /ρ f . The
density parameter R = (2β + 1)/3 accounts for added-mass effects. The Stokes number is S =
d p2 /(12νTc ), which for a physical choice of Tc corresponding to the transient dynamics will yield a
finitely small S. We choose the slow viscous diffusion timescale, Tc = d p2 /4ν, to resolve the early-
time dynamics. The theory, and by extension the MRE/BBOE, is formally valid for Re p  1, and
for Tc shorter than the Oseen timescale T ≡ ν/UT2 . Beyond the Oseen timescale, corrections from
the neglected convective fluid inertia are, in principle, warranted [9,24,25]. We note that indeed for
our choice Tc ∼ Re2p T .
The forces on the right-hand side of Eq. (3), respectively, are the quasi-steady Stokes drag,
the gravitational force with buoyancy effects, and the nonlocal Basset-Boussinesq history (BBH)
force. The last is an integral force along the particle’s trajectory over its life-time, stemming from
differences in acceleration between the particle and the surrounding fluid. Boussinesq [26] first
introduced the corrective term to Stokes’ approximation for nonuniform flow, which Basset [8]
formalized three years later. Oseen [27] subsequently added further corrections.

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Analytical and numerical solutions of BBOE are seldom pursued due to the inherent complexity
of handling nonlocality in such an integro-differential equation. Incorporating the force into numer-
ical solutions for general particulate flows entails storage requirements that escalate rapidly over
time. Consequently, the significance of the BBH force in particle dynamics has remained relatively
underexplored. Nevertheless, development of numerical methods have been progressively made in
the past, minimizing the computational costs [28–30]. In recent theoretical progress, Prasath et al.
[13] showed that the BBOE and more generally the MRE, grounded in unsteady Stokes theory, can
be favorably transformed into a local description: a one-dimensional heat equation with nontrivial
boundary conditions. The analytical solution to BBOE for a general initial condition is given in Ref.
[13]. For the special case of zero initial condition, which applies here, the solution to the BBOE was
previously provided in the form of sums of error functions [20,31,32].
One known significant implication of the unsteady theory is that a particle settling under gravity
approaches its terminal velocity at a rate proportional to t −1/2 [8,13,18,19,31,32]. This contrasts
with the exponentially fast relaxation rate predicted when the BBH force is disregarded. A key new
feature of this study is the flow structures generated by the particle’s unsteady motion, which have
broad implications for understanding collective particle dynamics in many physical phenomena. For
example, the sedimentation and coalescence rates of carbonaceous material and microplastics in the
ocean could be significantly mispredicted if history effects, including the associated flow structures,
are neglected. For completeness, we record both the particle’s settling behavior and the induced flow
features, reinforcing the known slow relaxation to terminal velocity.
Experiments. A series of controlled experiments maintaining the Stokesian conditions were
conducted. They specifically targeted the sedimentation of particles from an initial quiescent state
[v(0) = 0 and u0 (x, t ) = 0]. The schematic representation of the experimental setup is presented
in Fig. 1. The experiments utilized hardened 440C stainless steel particles (ρ p = 8075 kg/m3 )
submerged in silicone oil with a nominal viscosity of 1000 cSt and a nominal density of ρ f =
997 kg/m3 . The viscosity of the silicone oil was measured using a viscometer to account for
temperature-dependent variations. At the experimental temperature of 19 ◦ C, the measured viscosity
was 1140 cSt. Various particle diameters and densities were tested, and here we present the results
of two configurations: d p = 3.18 mm (UT = 0.034 m/s) and 4.76 mm(UT = 0.08 m/s), which re-
sulted in calculated particle Reynolds numbers of 0.1 and 0.32, respectively. In both cases, the
particle-to-fluid density ratio is β = 8.1. Additional experiments were conducted for Reynolds
numbers of Re p = 0.76 (d p = 9.54 mm, UT = 0.026 m/s) with β = 8.1 and Re p = 0.22 (d p =
6.35 mm, UT = 0.137 m/s) with β = 1.6, achieved through modifications in particle diameter and
material composition (see Fig 1 in the Supplemental Material [33]). The particle was suspended in
the fluid medium utilizing a magnetized tether, with a sting-to-sphere diameter ratio of 0.1 and
0.15 (for d p = 3.18 and 4.76 mm, respectively) and positioned at a depth of 20 and 30d p (for
d p = 4.76 and 3.18 mm, respectively) below the free surface to reduce any potential influence from
surface and sting-induced effects. A controlled reduction in the magnetic force was systematically
applied to facilitate particle release, and it was validated that this process resulted in no significant
rotational or horizontal drift of the released particle. Measures were taken to mitigate any influence
stemming from boundary effects by enclosing the experimental domain within a voluminous cubic
container, with each dimension being 94 and 140d p (for d p = 4.76 and 3.18 mm, respectively),
coupled with continuous temperature monitoring of the silicone oil to ensure uniform thermal
conditions throughout the experiment. The statistical error and repeatability of the experiment
were quantified through reproducing the experiments 20 times. The mean velocity error was found
to be 3% in the early stages where t/T < 0.1, and dropped below 1% for the remainder of the
sedimentation process. The uncertainty in the sphere diameter was ±0.03d p , while the temperature
measurement uncertainty was ±0.5 ◦ C, resulting in an uncertainty in the silicone oil viscosity of
±12 cSt. Experimental noise was mitigated by smoothing raw trajectories with a Gaussian kernel
of width 0.037T , acting as a low-pass filter with a 200 Hz cutoff frequency.

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 TOMEK JAROSLAWSKI et al.

FIG. 1. Experimental setup. (a) Side view and (b) top view. (1) Particle attached to a magnetized needle. (2)
High-speed camera. (3) Power supply. (4) Electromagnet. (5) Thermocouples. (6) PIV laser sheet. (7) Optical
table. (8) Continuous wave laser source.

We measured the trajectory of the particle utilizing a Phantom v2012 high-speed camera,
capturing images at a frequency of 2 kHz. Subsequently, we applied a binarization algorithm,
leveraging the particle’s centroid for trajectory determination.
To gain insights into the flow generated, particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to
quantify the induced flow field. The fluid medium was seeded with 10 µm glass spheres. Utilizing a
continuous wave nonpulsed 450 nm blue laser, the light beam was directed through a series of optics
to produce a thin light sheet with a thickness of less than 1 mm oriented in the x-y plane and aligned
along the centerline of the sphere. Velocity fields were computed using standard cross-correlation
algorithms, with interrogation windows sized at 32 × 32 pixels in the first image and corresponding
search windows of 64 × 64 pixels in the second image within each image pair. A 50% overlap was
implemented to achieve the nominal spatial resolution of 16 × 16 pixels or 0.2 × 0.2 d p .
Theoretical unsteady streamfunction in Stokesian regime. We posit that the flow field namely,
the velocity u(x, t ) and pressure p(x, t ), induced by the sphere during sedimentation, is gov-
erned by the unsteady Stokes equations, ∂u/∂t = −∇ p + ∇ 2 u + σ (g/g), which is exact in the
vanishing particle Reynolds number limit Re p = 0. Note that the convective inertial term u · ∇u
is absent. Variables have been nondimensionalized by the particle length scale d p /2, and the
viscous timescale d p2 /4ν. For convenience of interpretation, we choose UT as the velocity scale.
Consequently, σ = 9/[2(β − 1)] is the scaled gravitational acceleration. We seek an azimuthally

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symmetric solution, which satisfies a zero initial condition, u(r, θ , t = 0) = 0, the no-slip boundary
condition at the sphere, u(r = d p /2, θ , t ) = v(t ), and decay at far-field, u(r → ∞, θ , t ) = 0, where
the variable r denotes the radial distance measured from the sphere’s instantaneous center and
θ ∈ [0, π ] is the polar angle. We derive the following exact expression for the scalar nondimensional
streamfunction (scaled by d p2UT /4) under these dynamics, in the laboratory-fixed frame (see Sec. 3
in the Supplemental Material [33]),

1 3 t
ψ (r, θ , t ) = sin (θ )
2
v(t ) + v(τ )K (t − τ ; r) dτ , (4)
2r 2r 0
where the kernel K (·; ·) is given by
(c−1)2
1 − ce− 4z (c − 1)
K (z; c) = √ + erf √ , c > 1, (5)
πz 2 z
for nonnegative scalars z, c. Here, erf(·) denotes the error function. For r > 1, the kernel is a
monotonically decreasing function of time, diverging at t = 0 as t −1/2 and decaying algebraically
at long times: K (t → ∞; r) ∼ t −3/2 . The above expression generalizes those of [34,35] to a sphere
with time-dependent velocity. The time integral in Eq. (4), a convolution of the particle’s evolving
velocity with the kernel, represents the history effect: decaying flow perturbations generated by the
sphere along its trajectory that influence the present state. As t → ∞, the well-known streamfunc-
tion from steady Stokes theory [36] can be recovered. The particle velocity v(t ) is obtained by
solving the BBOE [Eq. (3)] exactly following [13] (see Sec. 4 in the Supplemental Material [33]),
and thereof the streamfunction is obtained from Eq. (4).
Results. Figure 2(a) shows the trajectory tracking results, specifically the nondimensional vertical
displacement y/d p of the particle at Re p = 0.1 over nondimensional time t/T . The figure compares
theoretical predictions from the BBOE with and without the BBH force against experimental data.
Incorporating the BBH force reduces displacement predictions, aligning closely with experimental
observations, especially in the early sedimentation stages. Figure 2(b) presents the nondimensional
vertical velocity v/UT as a function of t/T , with experimental data obtained through temporal
differentiation (dy/dt). A clear algebraic relaxation rate is evident in the experimental v/UT , closely
matching the BBOE predictions with the BBH force, confirming its known effect of slow relaxation
rate. Fitting all 20 experimental velocity datasets with a power-law model yields an exponent of
−0.495 ± 0.095 (95% confidence interval), reinforcing agreement with the theoretical prediction
of t −1/2 . This agreement extends to lower β values (see Fig. 1 in the Supplemental Material [33]),
consistent across vertical displacement, velocity, and the relaxation rate exponent of t −1/2 .
The PIV velocity vectors, accompanied by streamlines, are shown in Fig. 2(c), spanning early
stages (t/T < 0.3) of the sedimentation process. Initially, a counterclockwise vortex emerges close
to the particle, representing a cross-sectional view of a 3D vortex ring. As sedimentation progresses,
this vortex gradually moves away from the sphere along the x-direction. The x displacement results
from the unsteady nature of the initial process and the diffusive flow dynamics around the particle,
attributed to the growth of a laminar boundary layer as the particle sediments. In Fig. 2(d), we
present the flow fields obtained by the theoretical predictions from Eq. (4), plotted at the same
time instances as in the experiment. The unsteady Stokes model successfully captures the vortex
formation, handedness, and its drift in the x-direction over time, unlike the steady Stokes model,
which fails to predict vortex formation. The slower relaxation times observed and attributed to the
Basset history force implicitly result from the formation of this unsteady flow structure. As the
vortex moves farther away from the particle, the streamlines near the particle increasingly resemble
those of the steady Stokes solution [37].
In this configuration (d p = 3.18 mm and Re p = 0.10), there is a distinct separation between
the viscous and Oseen timescales: d p2 /4ν ∼ 10−3 and ν/UT2 ∼ 1 seconds, which differ by nearly
three orders of magnitude. This allows for a clear delineation between the “Stokes” regime where
unsteady Stokes theory is adequate and the “Oseen” regime where convective inertial corrections

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 TOMEK JAROSLAWSKI et al.

FIG. 2. Comparison of experimental data with theoretical predictions for Re p = 0.10, β = 8.1, corre-
sponding to terminal velocity UT = 0.034m/s and Oseen timescale T = 0.96s. (a) Vertical displacement and
(b) velocity of the particle over time. Solid and dashed lines: theoretical predictions excluding and including
the BBH force in the BBOE, respectively. Experimental data are indicated by red markers. Sequence of
(c) experimental PIV snapshots (center cross-section in the vertical x-y plane) and (d) theoretical predictions
of the unsteady flow field around the particle in the laboratory frame using Eq. (4), with overlaid streamlines at
times indicated on the panels. The gray circle represents the vertically settling particle. The horizontal reference
line drawn from the gray circle marks the line of fore-aft symmetry about the particle.

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FIG. 3. Results for a higher-inertia particle with Re p = 0.32, β = 8.1, terminal velocity UT = 0.08m/s,
and an Oseen timescale of T = 0.19 s. (a) Vertical velocity as a function of time. (b) Log-log plot of the
residual particle vertical velocity versus time, with the blue dot-dashed line indicating the theoretical algebraic
relaxation rate of t −1/2 . Solid lines show theoretical predictions without the BBH force, while dashed lines
include it. Experimental data are represented by red markers. (c) PIV snapshots (center cross-section in the
vertical x-y plane) illustrating the unsteady flow field around the particle for times indicated below the panels,
with overlaid streamlines. Gray circle represents the vertically settling particle. The horizontal reference line
marks the initial fore-aft flow symmetry about the particle, which is broken at later times as the vortex center
(and thus the line) vertically lags behind the particle.

to the theory are warranted. The particle reaches terminal velocity in approximately 0.015 seconds
without the BBH force, whereas accounting for the BBH force extends the time to around 1 second
to reach 97% of terminal velocity. Additionally, the particle attains a steady state, achieving up to
97% of the terminal velocity within t/T < 1, before the onset of convective effects. Nevertheless,
as will be demonstrated for higher Re p , the theory reveals limitations in adequately accounting for
the observed experimental results.
At higher Reynolds number, the Oseen timescale T is smaller, resulting in a reduced physical
time interval where t/T < 1. Figure 3(a) illustrates the vertical velocity of a settling particle over
time, demonstrating agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data at all times.
The experimental results show that the BBOE remains applicable up to t/T = 5, i.e., beyond its
formal range of validity of 0 < t/T < 1. As depicted in Fig. 3(b), the theory effectively continues
to model the algebraic relaxation rate observed in experiments during this later time.
The flow velocity vectors from PIV, accompanied by plotted streamlines, are shown in Fig. 3(c).
Similar to the Re = 0.10 case, the vortex core’s vertical position closely follows the particle’s
displacement, with an increasingly apparent x-direction displacement over time. Around t/T ≈ 1,
the rate of x-direction displacement diminishes, coinciding with the onset of a vertical spatial
lag between the vortex core and the center of the particle. Another noteworthy observation is the
occurrence of asymmetry in the vortex structure around t/T ≈ 2, characterized by outward tilting
(see Fig. 6 in the Supplemental Material [33]). This behavior could be attributed to the increased
influence of convective inertial effects and induced asymmetry in the vortex structure. However,
the low vortex strength at t > T makes its effect on particle motion weak, as confirmed by the
agreement between experiment and theory at later times in particle motion. We hypothesize that,
over extended periods, the vortex will continue to move away from the sphere, and the streamlines
will resemble those of a steady Oseen flow solution [37], exhibiting fore-aft asymmetry.

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 TOMEK JAROSLAWSKI et al.

Rep = 0.10 Rep = 0.10

Rep = 0.10
Rep = 0.32 Rep = 0.32

Rep = 0.32

t 1/2

(a) (b) (c)

FIG. 4. Experimental and theoretical comparisons of vortex dynamics generated by a particle at Re p =

0.10 and Re p = 0.32. (a) Vertical position of the vortex core from theory (solid line) and experiment (circle
markers), along with the vertical location of the maximum convective term identified in the experiment
(blue cross markers for Re p = 0.1 and red cross markers for Re p = 0.32). (b) Comparison of the spanwise
displacement of the vortex core from theory and experiment on a linear scale. (c) The same comparison as in
(b), presented on a logarithmic scale. Error bars indicate resolution error in PIV data.

In Fig. 4(a), we present the vertical displacement of the vortex core generated by the particle,
as observed in both the experiment and theory for particles with Re p = 0.10 and Re p = 0.32.
Additionally, as an estimate for the convective inertial term u · ∇u, we show the vertical location
of the maximum absolute value of v(t ) · ∇u in the field of view, where owing to a predominantly
vertical particle velocity v(t ) = [0, v(t ), 0], we have v(t ) · ∇u ≈ v(t )∂u/∂y. For Re p = 0.10, the
vortex core maintains horizontal alignment with the particle, consistent with our unsteady Stokes
model which yields Eq. (4). However, as Re p increases to 0.32, the vortex core starts to lag behind
the particle beyond t/T ≈ 2, a behavior not predicted by Eq. (4), which enforces fore-aft flow
symmetry.
Furthermore, in both cases, the vertical position of the maximum convective term in the flow
field correlates with the vertical location of the vortex core, as indicated by the red and blue markers
in Fig. 4(a). To further explore the relationship with increased inertial effects, we tested a particle at
Re p = 0.76, which approaches the threshold of the Stokes regime. We observed similar asymmetries
in the vortex dynamics (see Fig. 5 in the Supplemental Material [33]), reinforcing the connection
between these observations and inertial effects. This suggests that the asymmetries become more
pronounced as the Reynolds number increases. We also evaluated the relative significance of
spatially averaged convective inertial to viscous forces, over time. This analysis demonstrated
an increase in the importance of convective forces, becoming comparable to viscous forces at
larger Re p . In Figs. 4(b) and 4(c), we compare the experimental x-displacement of the vortex
with theoretical predictions on linear and logarithmic scales, respectively. For both Re p = 0.10
and Re p = 0.32, we observe that the unsteady theory [Eq. (4)] captures the vortex drift rate in the
x-direction accurately at early times but deviates at longer times. We do not know the reason for this
difference.
We show that the unsteady flow structures generated by settling particles in Stokesian condi-
tions exhibit a pronounced sensitivity to inertial effects, which correlates inertial forces with the
development of asymmetries in the particle-induced vortex. The settling dynamics of the particles
investigated here are consistent with theoretical predictions from the BBOE, but critically, our
results indicate that the BBOE’s applicability to predict the particle’s motion extends beyond
its formal validity, specifically beyond the Oseen timescale. In a similar vein but in a different
context of particles and bubbles in turbulence, Maxey et al. [38] too have suggested the extended
validity of the MRE up to Re p ≈ 17. Our analytical description of the particle-induced flow using

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the unsteady Stokes theory captures vortex formation and displacement at short times, up to the
Oseen timescale. The intricate dynamics of these unsteady vortices will be crucial in understanding
particle-to-particle interactions, necessitating their consideration in the refinement of models and
predictive frameworks for a broad spectrum of particle-laden flows.
Acknowledgments. The authors thank the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences,
Cambridge, for support and hospitality during the program Mathematical aspects of turbulence:
where do we stand? where this work was initiated. This work was supported by EPSRC Grant
No. EP/R014604/1. R.G. and D.J. acknowledge support of the Department of Atomic Energy,
Government of India, under Project No. RTI4001.

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