scholarly journals Turbulent channel flow of dense suspensions of neutrally buoyant spheres

2015 ◽  
Vol 764 ◽  
pp. 463-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Picano ◽  
Wim-Paul Breugem ◽  
Luca Brandt

AbstractDense particle suspensions are widely encountered in many applications and in environmental flows. While many previous studies investigate their rheological properties in laminar flows, little is known on the behaviour of these suspensions in the turbulent/inertial regime. The present study aims to fill this gap by investigating the turbulent flow of a Newtonian fluid laden with solid neutrally-buoyant spheres at relatively high volume fractions in a plane channel. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) are performed in the range of volume fractions ${\it\Phi}=0{-}0.2$ with an immersed boundary method (IBM) used to account for the dispersed phase. The results show that the mean velocity profiles are significantly altered by the presence of a solid phase with a decrease of the von Kármán constant in the log-law. The overall drag is found to increase with the volume fraction, more than one would expect if just considering the increase of the system viscosity due to the presence of the particles. At the highest volume fraction investigated here, ${\it\Phi}=0.2$, the velocity fluctuation intensities and the Reynolds shear stress are found to decrease. The analysis of the mean momentum balance shows that the particle-induced stresses govern the dynamics at high ${\it\Phi}$ and are the main responsible of the overall drag increase. In the dense limit, we therefore find a decrease of the turbulence activity and a growth of the particle induced stress, where the latter dominates for the Reynolds numbers considered here.

2018 ◽  
Vol 857 ◽  
pp. 345-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Gatti ◽  
Andrea Cimarelli ◽  
Yosuke Hasegawa ◽  
Bettina Frohnapfel ◽  
Maurizio Quadrio

This paper addresses the integral energy fluxes in natural and controlled turbulent channel flows, where active skin-friction drag reduction techniques allow a more efficient use of the available power. We study whether the increased efficiency shows any general trend in how energy is dissipated by the mean velocity field (mean dissipation) and by the fluctuating velocity field (turbulent dissipation). Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of different control strategies are performed at constant power input (CPI), so that at statistical equilibrium, each flow (either uncontrolled or controlled by different means) has the same power input, hence the same global energy flux and, by definition, the same total energy dissipation rate. The simulations reveal that changes in mean and turbulent energy dissipation rates can be of either sign in a successfully controlled flow. A quantitative description of these changes is made possible by a new decomposition of the total dissipation, stemming from an extended Reynolds decomposition, where the mean velocity is split into a laminar component and a deviation from it. Thanks to the analytical expressions of the laminar quantities, exact relationships are derived that link the achieved flow rate increase and all energy fluxes in the flow system with two wall-normal integrals of the Reynolds shear stress and the Reynolds number. The dependence of the energy fluxes on the Reynolds number is elucidated with a simple model in which the control-dependent changes of the Reynolds shear stress are accounted for via a modification of the mean velocity profile. The physical meaning of the energy fluxes stemming from the new decomposition unveils their inter-relations and connection to flow control, so that a clear target for flow control can be identified.


1992 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 513-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Davis ◽  
N. A. Hill

The motion of a heavy sphere sedimenting through a dilute background suspension of neutrally buoyant spheres is analysed for small Reynolds number and large Péclet number. For this particular problem, it is possible not only to calculate the mean velocity of the heavy particle, but also the variance of the velocity and the coefficient of hydrodynamic diffusivity. Pairwise, hydrodynamic interactions between the heavy sphere and the background sphere are considered exactly using volume integrals and a trajectory analysis. Explicit formulae are given for the two limiting cases when the radius of the heavy sphere is much greater and much less than that of the background spheres, and numerical results are given for moderate size ratios. The mean velocity is relatively insensitive to the ratio of the radius of the background spheres to that of the heavy sphere, unless this ratio is very large, whereas the hydrodynamic diffusivity increases rapidly as the radius ratio is increased. The predictions are in reasonable agreement with the results of falling-ball rheometry experiments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 788 ◽  
pp. 640-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Fornari ◽  
Francesco Picano ◽  
Luca Brandt

Sedimentation of a dispersed solid phase is widely encountered in applications and environmental flows, yet little is known about the behaviour of finite-size particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. To fill this gap, we perform direct numerical simulations of sedimentation in quiescent and turbulent environments using an immersed boundary method to account for the dispersed rigid spherical particles. The solid volume fractions considered are ${\it\phi}=0.5{-}1\,\%$, while the solid to fluid density ratio ${\it\rho}_{p}/{\it\rho}_{f}=1.02$. The particle radius is chosen to be approximately six Kolmogorov length scales. The results show that the mean settling velocity is lower in an already turbulent flow than in a quiescent fluid. The reductions with respect to a single particle in quiescent fluid are approximately 12 % and 14 % for the two volume fractions investigated. The probability density function of the particle velocity is almost Gaussian in a turbulent flow, whereas it displays large positive tails in quiescent fluid. These tails are associated with the intermittent fast sedimentation of particle pairs in drafting–kissing–tumbling motions. The particle lateral dispersion is higher in a turbulent flow, whereas the vertical one is, surprisingly, of comparable magnitude as a consequence of the highly intermittent behaviour observed in the quiescent fluid. Using the concept of mean relative velocity we estimate the mean drag coefficient from empirical formulae and show that non-stationary effects, related to vortex shedding, explain the increased reduction in mean settling velocity in a turbulent environment.


Author(s):  
Takuma Katayama ◽  
Shinsuke Mochizuki

The present experiment focuses on the vorticity diffusion in a stronger wall jet managed by a three-dimensional flat plate wing in the outer layer. Measurement of the fluctuating velocities and vorticity correlation has been carried out with 4-wire vorticity probe. The turbulent vorticity diffusion due to the large scale eddies in the outer layer is quantitatively examined by using the 4-wire vorticity probe. Quantitative relationship between vortex structure and Reynolds shear stress is revealed by means of directly measured experimental evidence which explains vorticity diffusion process and influence of the manipulating wing. It is expected that the three-dimensional outer layer manipulator contributes to keep convex profile of the mean velocity, namely, suppression of the turbulent diffusion and entrainment.


Author(s):  
V. Pasangulapati ◽  
N. R. Kesana ◽  
G. Sharma ◽  
F. W. Chambers ◽  
M. E. McNally ◽  
...  

It is desired to perform accurate Near Infrared sensor measurements of slurries flowing in pipes leaving large batch reactors. A concern with these measurements is the degree to which the slurry sensed is representative of the material in the reactor and flowing through the pipe. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been applied to the flow in the pipe to determine the flow fields and the concentration profiles seen by the sensors. The slurry was comprised of a xylene liquid phase and an ADP (2-amino-4, 6-dimethylpyrimidine) solid phase with a density ratio of 1.7. Computations were performed for a horizontal pipe with diameter 50.8 mm, length 2.032 m, and 1.76 m/s and 3.26 m/s mixture velocities. The corresponding pipe Reynolds numbers were 1.19E+05 and 2.21E+05. The flow through a slotted cylindrical probe inserted radially in the pipe also was considered. Spherical slurry particles with diameters from 10 μm to 1000 μm were considered with solid volume fractions of 12%, 24%, and 35%. Computations were performed with ANSYS FLUENT 12 software using the Realizable k-ε turbulence model and the enhanced wall treatment function. Comparisons of computed vertical profiles of solid volume fraction to results in the literature showed good agreement. Symmetric, nearly flat solid volume fraction profiles were observed for 38 μm particles for all three initial solid volume fractions. Asymmetric solid volume fraction profiles with greater values toward the bottom were observed for the larger particles. Changes in the profiles of turbulent kinetic energy also were observed. These changes are important for optical measurements which depend upon the mean concentration profiles as well as the turbulent motion of the slurry particles.


1998 ◽  
Vol 361 ◽  
pp. 309-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES R. ABBOTT ◽  
ALAN L. GRAHAM ◽  
LISA A. MONDY ◽  
HOWARD BRENNER

Individual falling balls were allowed to settle through otherwise quiescent well-mixed suspensions of non-colloidal neutrally buoyant spheres dispersed in a Newtonian liquid. Balls were tracked in three dimensions to determine the variances in their positions about a mean uniform vertical settling path. The primary experimental parameters investigated were the size of the falling ball and the volume fraction and size of the suspended particles. Unlike the horizontal variances, the vertical variances were found to be affected by short-time deterministic behaviour relating to the instantaneous local configurational arrangement of the suspended particles. For sufficiently long intervals between successive observations, the trajectories of the balls were observed to disperse about their mean settling paths in a random manner. This points to the existence of a Gaussian hydrodynamic dispersivity that characterizes the linear temporal growth of the variance in the position of a falling ball. The functional dependence of these horizontal and vertical dispersivities upon the parameters investigated was established.The dispersivity dyadic was observed to be transversely isotropic with respect to the direction of gravity, with the vertical component at least 25 times larger than the horizontal component. The vertical dispersivity Dˆv (made dimensionless with the diameter of the suspended spheres and the mean settling velocity) was observed to decrease with increasing falling ball diameter, but to decrease less rapidly with concentration than theoretically predicted for very dilute suspensions; moreover, for falling balls equal in size to the suspended spheres, Dˆv increased linearly with increasing volume fraction ϕ of suspended solids.In addition to the above experiments performed on suspensions of spheres, previously published settling-velocity data on the fall of balls through neutrally buoyant suspensions of rods possessing an aspect ratio of 20 were re-analysed, and vertical dispersivities calculated therefrom. (These data, taken by several of the present investigators in conjunction with other researchers, had only been grossly analysed in prior publications to extract the mean settling velocity of the ball, no attempt having been made at the time to extract dispersivity data too.) The resulting vertical dispersivities, when rendered dimensionless with the rod length and mean settling velocity, showed no statistically significant dependence upon the falling-ball diameter; moreover, all other things being equal, these dispersivities were observed to increase with increasing rod concentration.


2016 ◽  
Vol 801 ◽  
pp. 670-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hangjian Ling ◽  
Siddarth Srinivasan ◽  
Kevin Golovin ◽  
Gareth H. McKinley ◽  
Anish Tuteja ◽  
...  

Digital holographic microscopy is used for characterizing the profiles of mean velocity, viscous and Reynolds shear stresses, as well as turbulence level in the inner part of turbulent boundary layers over several super-hydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) with varying roughness/texture characteristics. The friction Reynolds numbers vary from 693 to 4496, and the normalized root mean square values of roughness $(k_{rms}^{+})$ vary from 0.43 to 3.28. The wall shear stress is estimated from the sum of the viscous and Reynolds shear stress at the top of roughness elements and the slip velocity is obtained from the mean profile at the same elevation. For flow over SHSs with $k_{rms}^{+}<1$, drag reduction and an upward shift of the mean velocity profile occur, along with a mild increase in turbulence in the inner part of the boundary layer. As the roughness increases above $k_{rms}^{+}\sim 1$, the flow over the SHSs transitions from drag reduction, where the viscous stress dominates, to drag increase where the Reynolds shear stress becomes the primary contributor. For the present maximum value of $k_{rms}^{+}=3.28$, the inner region exhibits the characteristics of a rough wall boundary layer, including elevated wall friction and turbulence as well as a downward shift in the mean velocity profile. Increasing the pressure in the test facility to a level that compresses the air layer on the SHSs and exposes the protruding roughness elements reduces the extent of drag reduction. Aligning the roughness elements in the streamwise direction increases the drag reduction. For SHSs where the roughness effect is not dominant ($k_{rms}^{+}<1$), the present measurements confirm previous theoretical predictions of the relationships between drag reduction and slip velocity, allowing for both spanwise and streamwise slip contributions.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rau´l Bayoa´n Cal ◽  
Xia Wang ◽  
Luciano Castillo

Applying similarity analysis to the RANS equations of motion for a pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer, Castillo and George [1] obtained the scalings for the mean deficit velocity and the Reynolds stresses. Following this analysis, Castillo and George studied favorable pressure gradient (FPG) turbulent boundary layers. They were able to obtain a single curve for FPG flows when scaling the mean deficit velocity profiles. In this study, FPG turbulent boundary layers are analyzed as well as relaminarized boundary layers subjected to an even stronger FPG. It is found that the mean deficit velocity profiles diminish when scaled using the Castillo and George [1] scaling, U∞, and the Zagarola and Smits [2] scaling, U∞δ*/δ. In addition, Reynolds stress data has been analyzed and it is found that the relaminarized boundary layer data decreases drastically in all components of the Reynolds stresses. Furthermore, it will be shown that the shape of the profile for the wall-normal and Reynolds shear stress components change drastically given the relaminarized state. Therefore, the mean velocity deficit profiles as well as Reynolds stresses are found to be necessary in order to understand not only FPG flows, but also relaminarized boundary layers.


Author(s):  
Hugo D. Pasinato ◽  
Ezequiel Arthur Krumrick

Abstract This research uses data from direct numerical simulation (DNS) to characterize the different errors associated with a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation. The statistics from DNS (Reynolds stresses, kinetic energy of turbulence, $\kappa$, and dissipation of turbulence, $\epsilon$), are fed into a RANS simulation with the same Reynolds number, geometry, and numerical code used for DNS. Three integral metrics error based on the mean velocity, the moduli of the mean rate-of-strain tensor, and the wall shear stress are used to characterize the errors associated with the RANS technique, with the RANS model, and with the linear eddy viscosity model (LEVM). For developed and perturbed flow, it is found that the mean velocity of the RANS simulations with the DNS statistics is almost the same as the mean velocity from DNS data. This procedure enables the study of the relative importance of the different Reynolds stresses in a particular flow. It is shown that for the bounded perturbed turbulent flows studied here, almost all the necessary effects of turbulence are contained in the Reynolds shear stress.


2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rey DeLeon ◽  
Inanc Senocak

We investigate the role of eddy viscosity variation and the effect of zonal enforcement of the mass flow rate on the log-layer mismatch problem observed in turbulent channel flows. An analysis of the mean momentum balance shows that it lacks a degree-of-freedom (DOF) when eddy viscosity is large, and the mean velocity conforms to an incorrect profile. Zonal enforcement of the target flow rate introduces an additional degree-of-freedom to the mean momentum balance, similar to an external stochastic forcing term, leading to a significant reduction in the log-layer mismatch. We simulate turbulent channel flows at friction Reynolds numbers of 2000 and 5200 on coarse meshes that do not resolve the viscous sublayer. The second-order turbulence statistics agree well with the direct numerical simulation benchmark data when results are normalized by the velocity scale extracted from the filtered velocity field. Zonal enforcement of the flow rate also led to significant improvements in skin friction coefficients.


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