摘要：Sedimentation of suspensions process is important, especially in pollution and biologic studies. Unlike usual methods, as those using pipettes, aerometer or balances, the optical ones are nondestructive and more accurate. During the sedimentation produced by the braked fall off the solid particles in suspension, fluctuations induced by an opposite vertical diffusion occur. We used a scattering method, based on the attenuation of a laser beam, which allows plotting sedimentation curves (the dependence on time of the suspended solid particles concentration) of the process. We obtained an empirical relation describing sedimentation curves as a function of some main parameters (related to initial concentration, height in suspension, dimensions of suspended solid particles) and we performed a simulation of the experimental sedimentation curves using the obtained relation and Mathcad software facilities. We notice that the results of these studies allow using a fast method in order to determine the sedimentation time, which often can be very long.-ivins
关键词：light scattering; gravitational sedimentation; sedimentation time
