Flotation inertia-free

With very large particles the liquid interlayer thinning process is complicated by the deformation of the bubble surface by an inertia impact of the particle. It was shown by Derjaguin et al. (1977) and Dukhin Rulyov (1977) that in the inertia-free deposition of small particles on a bubble surface its deformation under the influence of the hydrodynamic pressing force is insignificant. This third important feature facilitates the development of a quantitative kinetic theory of flotation of small particles. 

Figure 10.3 The influence of the finite dimension of particles in inertia-free flotation on their trajectory in the vicinity of a floating bubble. The liquid flow lines corresponding to target distances b(a,) and are indicated by dashed lines. The continuous lines are characteristic of the deviation of the trajectory of particles from the liquid flow lines under the influence of short-range hydrodynamic interaction...

So far a quantitative description of inertia-free flotation is given only for limiting cases namely, at sufficiently small and large values of the potential product At small values... 

This theory enables to characterise quantitatively the conditions under which flotation proceeds inertia-free. It is simultaneously a generalisation of the theory of small particle flotation which not only allows to describe inertia-free flotation, but also flotation complicated by a negative effect of inertia forces. If flotation proceeds practically inertia-free at ap<3-10pm, the negative effect of inertia its quantitatively described over the range of bubble size from 10 to 30 pm. 

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