Critical Shear Stress for Erosion Under Laminar Jet Flow

Here we evaluate critical shear stresses for erosion under laminar jet flow. To date critical shear stresses for erosion, as embodied in Shields diagrams, have largely been developed for turbulent flow both experimentally and mathematically. However, curves on the Shields diagrams diverge among various models at lower particle Reynolds numbers. Indeed, how critical shear stresses for erosion develop under fully laminar jet flow conditions (not simply laminar boundary layers under turbulent flow) remains unclear. Here we address this gap, which is particularly important for mobilization of the smallest particles. We find the Shields parameter to be inversely proportional to the particle Reynolds numbers under laminar jet flow conditions similar to turbulent conditions.