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Register a new userFlocculation of suspended cohesive particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence
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We investigate the dynamics of cohesive particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence, based on one-way coupled simulations that include Stokes drag, lubrication, cohesive and direct contact forces. We observe a transient flocculation phase characterized by a growing average floc size, followed by a statistically steady equilibrium phase. We analyze the temporal evolution of floc size and shape due to aggregation, breakage, and deformation. Larger turbulent shear and weaker cohesive forces yield elongated flocs that are smaller in size. Flocculation proceeds most rapidly when the fluid and particle time scales are balanced and a suitably defined Stokes number is textit{O}(1). During the transient stage, cohesive forces of intermediate strength produce flocs of the largest size, as they are strong enough to cause aggregation, but not so strong as to pull the floc into a compact shape. Small Stokes numbers and weak turbulence delay the onset of the equilibrium stage. During equilibrium, stronger cohesive forces yield flocs of larger size. The equilibrium floc size distribution exhibits a preferred size that depends on the cohesive number. We observe that flocs are generally elongated by turbulent stresses before breakage. Flocs of size close to the Kolmogorov length scale preferentially align themselves with the intermediate strain direction and the vorticity vector. Flocs of smaller size tend to align themselves with the extensional strain direction. More generally, flocs are aligned with the strongest Lagrangian stretching direction. The Kolmogorov scale is seen to limit floc growth. We propose a new flocculation model with a variable fractal dimension that predicts the temporal evolution of the floc size and shape.
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We propose a one-way coupled model that tracks individual primary particles in a conceptually simple cellular flow setup to predict flocculation in turbulence. This computationally efficient model accounts for Stokes drag, lubrication, cohesive and direct contact forces on the primary spherical particles and allows for a systematic simulation campaign that yields the transient mean floc size as a function of the governing dimensionless parameters. The simulations reproduce the growth of the cohesive flocs with time, and the emergence of a log-normal equilibrium distribution governed by the balance of aggregation and breakage. Flocculation proceeds most rapidly when the Stokes number of the primary particles is textit{O}(1). Results from this simple computational model are consistent with experimental observations, thus allowing us to propose a new analytical flocculation model that yields improved agreement with experimental data, especially during the transient stages.
We analyze the vector nulls of velocity, Lagrangian acceleration, and vorticity, coming from direct numerical simulations of forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence at $Re_lambda in [40-610]$. We show that the clustering of velocity nulls is much stronger than those of acceleration and vorticity nulls. These acceleration and vorticity nulls, however, are denser than the velocity nulls. We study the scaling of clusters of these null points with $Re_lambda$ and with characteristic turbulence lengthscales. We also analyze datasets of point inertial particles with Stokes numbers $St = 0.5$, 3, and 6, at $Re_lambda = 240$. Inertial particles display preferential concentration with a degree of clustering that resembles some properties of the clustering of the Lagrangian acceleration nulls, in agreement with the proposed sweep-stick mechanism of clustering formation.
We present an experimental study on the settling velocity of dense sub-Kolmogorov particles in active-grid-generated turbulence in a wind tunnel. Using phase Doppler interferometry, we observe that the modifications of the settling velocity of inertial particles, under homogeneous isotropic turbulence and dilute conditions $phi_vleq O(10)^{-5}$, is controlled by the Taylor-based Reynolds number $Re_lambda$ of the carrier flow. On the contrary, we did not find a strong influence of the ratio between the fluid and gravity accelerations (i.e., $gammasim(eta/tau_eta^2)/g$) on the particle settling behavior. Remarkably, our results suggest that the hindering of the settling velocity (i.e. the measured particle settling velocity is smaller than its respective one in still fluid conditions) experienced by the particles increases with the value of $Re_lambda$, reversing settling enhancement found under intermediate $Re_lambda$ conditions. This observation applies to all particle sizes investigated, and it is consistent with previous experimental data in the literature. At the highest $Re_lambda$ studied, $Re_lambda>600$, the particle enhancement regime ceases to exist. Our data also show that for moderate Rouse numbers, the difference between the measured particle settling velocity and its velocity in still fluid conditions scales linearly with Rouse, when this difference is normalized by the carrier phase rms fluctuations, i.e., $(V_p-V_T)/usim -Ro$.
In this work, the scaling statistics of the dissipation along Lagrangian trajectories are investigated by using fluid tracer particles obtained from a high resolution direct numerical simulation with $Re_{lambda}=400$. Both the energy dissipation rate $epsilon$ and the local time averaged $epsilon_{tau}$ agree rather well with the lognormal distribution hypothesis. Several statistics are then examined. It is found that the autocorrelation function $rho(tau)$ of $ln(epsilon(t))$ and variance $sigma^2(tau)$ of $ln(epsilon_{tau}(t))$ obey a log-law with scaling exponent $beta=beta=0.30$ compatible with the intermittency parameter $mu=0.30$. The $q$th-order moment of $epsilon_{tau}$ has a clear power-law on the inertial range $10<tau/tau_{eta}<100$. The measured scaling exponent $K_L(q)$ agrees remarkably with $q-zeta_L(2q)$ where $zeta_L(2q)$ is the scaling exponent estimated using the Hilbert methodology. All these results suggest that the dissipation along Lagrangian trajectories could be modelled by a multiplicative cascade.
The orientation dynamics of small anisotropic tracer particles in turbulent flows is studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS) and results are compared with Lagrangian stochastic models. Generalizing earlier analysis for axisymmetric ellipsoidal particles (Parsa et al. 2012), we measure the orientation statistics and rotation rates of general, triaxial ellipsoidal tracer particles using Lagrangian tracking in DNS of isotropic turbulence. Triaxial ellipsoids that are very long in one direction, very thin in another, and of intermediate size in the third direction exhibit reduced rotation rates that are similar to those of rods in the ellipsoids longest direction, while exhibiting increased rotation rates that are similar to those of axisymmetric discs in the thinnest direction. DNS results differ significantly from the case when the particle orientations are assumed to be statistically independent from the velocity gradient tensor. They are also different from predictions of a Gaussian process for the velocity gradient tensor, which does not provide realistic preferred vorticity-strain-rate tensor alignments. DNS results are also compared with a stochastic model for the velocity gradient tensor based on the recent fluid deformation approximation (RFDA). Unlike the Gaussian model, the stochastic model accurately predicts the reduction in rotation rate in the longest direction of triaxial ellipsoids since this direction aligns with the flows vorticity, with its rotation perpendicular to the vorticity being reduced. For disc-like particles, or in directions perpendicular to the longest direction in triaxial particles, the model predicts {noticeably} smaller rotation rates than those observed in DNS, a behavior that can be understood based on the probability of vorticity orientation with the most contracting strain-rate eigen-direction in the model.
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