AbstractThe need for particle shape characterization has been internationally recognised and has resulted in a number of publications proposing a variety of methods for particle shape analysis and shape description. Though very important in chemical engineering, correlations between shape parameters and bulk properties are still rare.This paper describes theoretical and experimental investigations of dynamic shape factors for use when calculating the settling velocity of a particle. For this purpose a study of the settling velocities of particles of various shapes has been made. A correlation is developed from the data with which to quantify the effect of shape on settling velocity for particles falling freely in a fluid in the laminar flow range.