AbstractThe flow around an accelerating spherical particle of diameter ranging from 50 to 200 m̈m is studied in the range of Reynolds number between 0.1 and 100. The flow around the sphere is assumed to be laminar and two‐dimensional axisymmetric. The calculated drag coefficient is compared with the theoretical predictions of added mass term and Basset history term. Appropriate corrections for those two terms are proposed as function of the acceleration rate and the particle diamet