Sphere-tube drag regimes with a radius-deficit gap ($F^{\ast }\sim \frac{c_3{ϵ}^{-5/2}+\delta c{ϵ}^{-3}}{1+\delta c_3{ϵ}^{-5/2}},c_3=\frac{3\pi }{4\sqrt{2}},c=\frac{{\pi }^2}{2}$)

Use radius-deficit $ϵ$, $F^{\ast }=F/(6\pi \mu aU)$ and $\delta =3a/(4L)$. The control-volume drag formula for a sphere in a tube and the radius-deficit normalization of sphere-tube lubrication integrals give three leading resistances: $c_3{ϵ}^{-5/2}$ for $\delta \ll {ϵ}^{5/2}$, $1/\delta$ for ${ϵ}^{5/2}\ll \delta \ll {ϵ}^{1/2}$, and $2\pi \sqrt{2}/(3\sqrt{ϵ})$ for $\delta \gg {ϵ}^{1/2}$. They correspond to gap bypass with almost no tube throughflow, pressure resistance of tube throughflow, and local annular resistance, respectively.