Suspensions of finite-size neutrally buoyant spheres in turbulent duct flow

• We study the turbulent square duct flow of dense suspensions of neutrally buoyant spherical particles. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are performed in the range of volume fractions phi = 0-0.2, using the immersed boundary method (IBM) to account for the dispersed phase. Based on the hydraulic diameter a Reynolds number of 5600 is considered. We observe that for phi = 0.05 and 0.1, particles preferentially accumulate on the corner bisectors, close to the corners, as also observed for laminar square duct flows of the same duct-to-particle size ratio. At the highest volume fraction, particles preferentially accumulate in the core region. For plane channel flows, in the absence of lateral confinement, particles are found instead to be uniformly distributed across the channel. The intensity of the cross-stream secondary flows increases (with respect to the unladen case) with the volume fraction up to phi = 0.1, as a consequence of the high concentration of particles along the corner bisector. For phi = 0.2 the turbulence activity is reduced and the intensity of the secondary flows reduces to below that of the unladen case. The friction Reynolds number increases with phi in dilute conditions, as observed for channel flows. However, for phi = 0.2 the mean friction Reynolds number is similar to that for phi = 0.1. By performing the turbulent kinetic energy budget, we see that the turbulence production is enhanced up to phi = 0.1, while for phi = 0.2 the production decreases below the values for phi = 0.05. On the other hand, the dissipation and the transport monotonically increase with phi The interphase interaction term also contributes positively to the turbulent kinetic energy budget and increases monotonically with phi, in a similar way as the mean transport. Finally, we show that particles move on average faster than the fluid. However, there are regions close to the walls and at the corners where they lag behind it. In particular, for phi = 0.05, 0.1, the slip velocity distribution at the corner bisectors seems correlated to the locations of maximum concentration: the concentration is higher where the slip velocity vanishes. The wall-normal hydrodynamic and collision forces acting on the particles push them away from the corners. The combination of these forces vanishes around the locations of maximum concentration. The total mean forces are generally low along the corner bisectors and at the core, also explaining the concentration distribution for phi = 0.2.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Strömningsmekanik och akustik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

multiphase and particle-laden flows

particle/fluid flows

suspensions

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