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Measure pressure relative to its hydrostatic value and let $\Delta P$ be the lower-side excess pressure minus the upper-side excess pressure. The long unobstructed parts of the tube act as Poiseuille resistances in series. Their lengths add to $L$ at leading order because $l\ll L$; entrance and exterior resistances are smaller for $L\gg a$. ConsequentlyHere $Q$ is downward laboratory-frame volume flux.

Take $z$ upwards in the particle frame and let $s$ measure distance from the particle surface to the tube wall. In this frame the particle is stationary and the wall moves upwards at speed $U$. In the thin, slowly varying gap, pressure is uniform across $s$ and the leading axial Stokes equation is $\mu w_{ss}=p_z$. No slip givesThe gap's upward relative flux is constant, while conservation of displaced volume gives $2\pi aq=\pi a^{2}U-Q$. Thus $p_z=6\mu U/h^2-12\mu q/h^3$, and integration from bottom to top yieldsCurvature corrections to the gap circumference are relative order $h/a$. Rapid end regions do not contribute to the leading singular neck resistance.

For the force use a cylindrical fluid control volume containing the particle, with full-area end caps just beyond it and the particle surface as an inner boundary. The upward pressure force on the caps is $\pi a^2\Delta P$. The outer wall exerts axial traction $\mu w_s(h)$ on the fluid, whereas the particle's traction on the fluid integrates to minus its upward hydrodynamic resistance $F$. The zero-inertia momentum balance is thereforeThe velocity profile gives $w_s(h)=4U/h-6q/h^2$, provingUsing the outer-wall traction is essential; directly using the particle-side shear and a flat-end pressure force would omit the pressure on the sloping particle surface. This is control-volume drag formula for a sphere in a tube.

The four dimensionless relations areSolving them givesWithin the preceding lubrication and tube-resistance approximations, the force isSince $h/a\ll 1$, $I_3^{\ast }\gg I_2^{\ast }\gg I_1^{\ast }$. Dropping the smaller additive $-2I_2^{\ast }+4I_1^{\ast }/3$ terms in the numerator yields the requested leading formulaThe Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives $(I_2^{\ast }{)}^2\le I_1^{\ast }{I}_3^{\ast }$, so the retained $\delta$ term is positive. The term multiplied by $\delta$ must be retained: it can compete with $I_3^{\ast }$ even though the unmultiplied lower integrals cannot.

For a sphere of radius $a(1-ϵ)$, the neck has $h=aϵ+z^2/(2a)$ at leading order. With $z=a\sqrt{2ϵ}t$, the integrals reduce to $\sqrt{2}{ϵ}^{1/2-n}{\int }_{-\infty }^{\infty }(1+t^2{)}^{-n}dt$. For $n=1,2,3$ these last integrals are $\pi ,\pi /2,3\pi /8$, giving the full two-sided integrals. PutThe printed sphere integrals are half these values: they correspond to integrating over one side of the neck rather than the stated interval spanning both sides. The substitution above establishes the radius-deficit normalization of sphere-tube lubrication integrals. Using the two-sided values, the force becomesso the three answers areThese are the corrected sphere-tube drag regimes with a radius-deficit gap. If the supplied half-integrals are treated as stipulated data instead, the same algebra gives $3\pi {ϵ}^{-5/2}/(8\sqrt{2})$, $1/\delta$ and $\pi \sqrt{2}{ϵ}^{-1/2}/3$ in the three regimes. Thus the first and third numerical drag coefficients double when the geometrically correct integrals are used; the regime boundaries and dominant flow patterns are unchanged.

In the first regime, $Q^{\ast }\sim \delta c_3{ϵ}^{-5/2}\ll 1$, $q^{\ast }\sim 1/4$, and $\Delta P^{\ast }\sim c_3{ϵ}^{-5/2}\sim F^{\ast }$. Almost no displaced fluid escapes through the long tube; it bypasses upwards through the thin annulus. The large pressure-driven bypass resistance sets the drag, with shear smaller.

In the second regime, $Q^{\ast }\sim 1$, $\Delta P^{\ast }\sim F^{\ast }\sim 1/\delta$, andAlmost all displaced volume travels through the unobstructed tube, whose pressure resistance dominates the force. Both terms in this small gap flux are worth displaying: their crossover at $\delta \sim {ϵ}^{3/2}$ changes the balance between pressure-driven and wall-driven gap transport but does not create a fourth leading force regime.

In the third regime, $1-Q^{\ast }\sim 4ϵ/3$, $q^{\ast }\sim ϵ/3$, and $\Delta P^{\ast }\sim 1/\delta \ll F^{\ast }$. Tube throughflow still carries almost all the displaced volume, but the dominant resistance is local annular lubrication rather than the net tube pressure drop. The relative gap flux is now of order $Uh$, so wall-driven and pressure-driven components both matter locally. The formulas describe hydrodynamic resistance after subtracting hydrostatic buoyancy; terminal settling would balance it against the particle's excess weight.