Inelastic Energy Transfer in Particle/Surface Collisions

A new theoretical model for the collisional energy transfer between a small solid particle and a smooth solid surface is presented. This model predicts that the critical capture velocity in a normal incidence collision is where λ is the ratio of the effective inertial mass of the substrate divided by the mass of the particle, dp is the particle diameter, mp is the particle mass, Yy is the yield stress of particle or substrate, whichever is smaller, and w is the Dupre surface energy for the particle/substrate system.