No Arabic abstract
With the aim of efficiently simulating three-dimensional multiphase turbulent flows with a phase-field method, we propose a new discretization scheme for the biharmonic term (the 4th-order derivative term) of the Cahn-Hilliard equation. This novel scheme can significantly reduce the computational cost while retaining the same accuracy as the original procedure. Our phase-field method is built on top of a direct numerical simulation solver, named AFiD (www.afid.eu) and open-sourced by our research group. It relies on a pencil distributed parallel strategy and a FFT-based Poisson solver. To deal with large density ratios between the two phases, a pressure split method [1] has been applied to the Poisson solver. To further reduce computational costs, we implement a multiple-resolution algorithm which decouples the discretizations for the Navier-Stokes equations and the scalar equation: while a stretched wall-resolving grid is used for the Navier-Stokes equations, for the Cahn-Hilliard equation we use a fine uniform mesh. The present method shows excellent computational performance for large-scale computation: on meshes up to 8 billion nodes and 3072 CPU cores, a multiphase flow needs only slightly less than 1.5 times the CPU time of the single-phase flow solver on the same grid. The present method is validated by comparing the results to previous studies for the cases of drop deformation in shear flow, including the convergence test with mesh refinement, and breakup of a rising buoyant bubble with density ratio up to 1000. Finally, we simulate the breakup of a big drop and the coalescence of O(10^3) drops in turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection at a Rayleigh number of $10^8$, observing good agreement with theoretical results.
A series of benchmarks based on the physical situation of phase inversion between two immiscible liquids is presented. These benchmarks aim at progressing toward the direct numerical simulation of two-phase flows. Several CFD codes developed in French laboratories and using either Volume-of-Fluid or Level-Set interface tracking methods are used to provide physical solutions of the benchmarks, convergence studies and code comparisons. Two typical configurations are retained, with integral scale Reynolds numbers of 13.700 and 433.000, respectively. The physics of the problem are probed through macroscopic quantities such as potential and kinetic energies, or enstrophy. In addition, scaling laws for the temporal decay of the kinetic energy are derived to check the physical relevance of the simulations. Finally the droplet size distribution is probed. Additional test problems are also reported to estimate the influence of viscous effects in the vicinity of the interface.
This work presents a new multiphase SPH model that includes the shifting algorithm and a variable smoothing length formalism to simulate multi-phase flows with accuracy and proper interphase management. The implementation was performed in the DualSPHysics code and validated for different canonical experiments, such as the single-phase and multiphase Poiseuille and Couette test cases. The method is accurate even for the multiphase case for which two phases are simulated. The shifting algorithm and the variable smoothing length formalism has been applied in the multiphase SPH model to improve the numerical results at the interphase even when it is highly deformed and non-linear effects become important. The obtained accuracy in the validation tests and the good interphase definition in the instability cases indicate an important improvement in the numerical results compared with single-phase and multiphase models where the shifting algorithm and the variable smoothing length formalism are not applied.
An original experimental setup has been elaborated in order to get a better view of turbulent flows in a von Karman geometry. The availability of a very fast camera allowed to follow in time the evolution of the flows. A surprising finding is that the development of smaller whorls ceases earlier than expected and the aspect of the flows remains the same above Reynolds number of a few thousand. This fact provides an explanation of the constancy of the reduced dissipation in the same range without the need of singularity. Its cause could be in relation with the same type of behavior observed in a rotating frame.
Phoresis, the drift of particles induced by scalar gradients in a flow, can result in an effective compressibility, bringing together or repelling particles from each other. Here, we ask whether this effect can affect the transport of particles in a turbulent flow. To this end, we study how the dispersion of a cloud of phoretic particles is modified when injected in the flow, together with a blob of scalar, whose effect is to transiently bring particles together, or push them away from the center of the blob. The resulting phoretic effect can be quantified by a single dimensionless number. Phenomenological considerations lead to simple predictions for the mean separation between particles, which are consistent with results of direct numerical simulations. Using the numerical results presented here, as well as those from previous studies, we discuss quantitatively the experimental consequences of this work and the possible impact of such phoretic mechanisms in natural systems.
In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical solver is developed for suspensions of rigid and soft particles and droplets in viscoelastic and elastoviscoplastic (EVP) fluids. The presented algorithm is designed to allow for the first time three-dimensional simulations of inertial and turbulent EVP fluids with a large number particles and droplets. This is achieved by combining fast and highly scalable methods such as an FFT-based pressure solver, with the evolution equation for non-Newtonian (including elastoviscoplastic) stresses. In this flexible computational framework, the fluid can be modelled by either Oldroyd-B, neo-Hookean, FENE-P, and Saramito EVP models, and the additional equations for the non-Newtonian stresses are fully coupled with the flow. The rigid particles are discretized on a moving Lagrangian grid while the flow equations are solved on a fixed Eulerian grid. The solid particles are represented by an Immersed Boundary method (IBM) with a computationally efficient direct forcing method allowing simulations of a large numbers of particles. The immersed boundary force is computed at the particle surface and then included in the momentum equations as a body force. The droplets and soft particles on the other hand are simulated in a fully Eulerian framework, the former with a level-set method to capture the moving interface and the latter with an indicator function. The solver is first validated for various benchmark single-phase and two-phase elastoviscoplastic flow problems through comparison with data from the literature. Finally, we present new results on the dynamics of a buoyancy-driven drop in an elastoviscoplastic fluid.