Packing properties of binary mixtures in disordered sphere systems

Mixtures of binary spheres are numerically simulated using a relaxation algorithm to investigate the effects of volume fraction and size ratio, A complete profile of the packing properties of binary spheres is given. The density curve with respect to the volume fraction has a triangular shape with a peak at 70% large spheres. The density of the mixture increases with the size ratio, but the growth becomes slow in the case of a large size disparity, The volume fraction and size ratio effects are reflected in the height and movement, respectively, of specific peaks in the radial distribution functions. The structure of the mixture is further analyzed in terms of contact types, and the mean coordination number is demonstrated to be primarily affected by ＂large-small＂ contacts. A novel method for estimating the average relative excluded volume for binary spheres by weighting the percentages of contact types is proposed and extended to polydisperse packings of certain size distributions. The method can be applied to explain the density trends of polydisperse mixtures in disordered sphere systems,     

Packing properties of binary mixtures in disordered sphere systems

Mixtures of binary spheres are numerically simulated using a relaxation algorithm to investigate the effects of volume fraction and size ratio. A complete profile of the packing properties of binary spheres is given. The density curve with respect to the volume fraction has a triangular shape with a peak at 70% large spheres. The density of the mixture increases with the size ratio, but the growth becomes slow in the case of a large size disparity. The volume fraction and size ratio effects are reflected in the height and movement, respectively, of specific peaks in the radial distribution functions. The structure of the mixture is further analyzed in terms of contact types, and the mean coordination number is demonstrated to be primarily affected by “large–small” contacts. A novel method for estimating the average relative excluded volume for binary spheres by weighting the percentages of contact types is proposed and extended to polydisperse packings of certain size distributions. The method can be applied to explain the density trends of polydisperse mixtures in disordered sphere systems.     

Representative elementary volume analysis of polydisperse granular packings using discrete element method

The representative elementary volume (REV) for three-dimensional polydisperse granular packings was determined using discrete element method simulations. Granular mixtures of various sizes and particle size distributions were poured into a cuboid chamber and subjected to uniaxial compression. Findings showed that the minimum REV for porosity was larger compared with the REV for parameters such as coordination number, effective elastic modulus, and pressure ratio. The minimum REV for porosity and other parameters was found to equal 15, 10, and 5 times the average grain diameter, respectively. A study of the influence of sample size on energy dissipation in random packing of spheres has also confirmed that the REV size is about 15 times the average grain diameter. The heterogeneity of systems was found to have no effect on the REV for the parameters of interest for the narrow range of coefficient of uniformity analyzed in this paper. As the REV approach is commonly applied in both experimental and numerical studies, determining minimum REV size for polydisperse granular packings remains a crucial issue.     

Prediction of mono-disperse gas–liquid turbulent flow in a vertical pipe

A two-fluid model in the Eulerian–Eulerian framework has been implemented for the prediction of gas volume fraction, mean phasic velocities, and the liquid phase turbulence properties for gas–liquid upward flow in a vertical pipe. The governing two-fluid transport equations are discretized using the finite volume method and a low Reynolds number $k-\varepsilon$ model is used to predict the turbulence field for the continuous liquid phase. In the present analysis, a fully developed one-dimensional flow is considered where the gas volume fraction profile is predicted using the radial force balance for the bubble phase. The current study investigates: (1) the turbulence modulation terms which represent the effect of bubbles on the liquid phase turbulence in the k–ε transport equations; (2) the role of the bubble induced turbulent viscosity compared to turbulence generated by shear; and (3) the effect of bubble size on the radial forces which results in either a center-peak or a wall-peak in the gas volume fraction profiles. The results obtained from the current simulation are generally in good agreement with the experimental data, and somewhat improved over the predictions of some previous numerical studies.     

Direct numerical simulation of the interaction of isotropic turbulence with a shock wave using shock-fitting

The interaction of three-dimensional isotropic turbulence with a plane shock at Mach numbers of $M=2.0$ and $M=3.0$ is investigated via direct numerical simulation. The numerical scheme is based on a characteristic-type formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations and uses fifth-order upwind schemes in space, a fourth order Runge Kutta scheme in time and a shock-fitting as inlet condition. The isotropic turbulence was generated in a separate computation based on a prescribed energy spectrum. This turbulent flow is considered as frozen, and is convected through the shock with a prescribed average shock speed. An FFT interpolation is used to obtain the upstream values at the instantaneous shock location. Turbulence enhancement is observed, and the evolution of velocity fluctuations as well as turbulence microscales are in good agreement with the behaviour observed using shock-capturing. To cite this article: J. Sesterhenn et al., C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

Extension of staggered-grid-based AUSM-family schemes for use in nuclear safety analysis codes

To overcome the numerical difficulties of the density-based method for low-Mach-number two-phase flow, this paper adopts the AUSM${}^{+}$ and AUSMDV schemes based on a staggered-grid arrangement. The water faucet, air-water shock tube, oscillating manometer and air-water phase separation problems are used as benchmark tests to validate the implementation of the generic four-equation two-fluid model. The present results reveal the advantages of using staggered-grid-based AUSM${}^{+}$ and AUSMDV schemes over the collocated-grid-based counterpart. With a staggered-grid arrangement, odd-even decoupling issues can be avoided. Thus, no sound speed scaling or additional diffusion terms are needed when using AUSM${}^{+}$ and AUSMDV schemes for low-Mach-number two-phase flow. Furthermore, since the pressure and void fraction are already stored at the interface of the velocity control volume, no interpolation of interfacial pressure is needed for momentum equations. Finally, this study will help integrate AUSM${}^{+}$ and AUSMDV schemes into staggered-grid-based thermal hydraulic codes, e.g. CATHENA, used in the nuclear industry. Moreover, to tackle the stiffness issues in relation to phase appearance and disappearance, we propose a new staggered-grid-based scheme referred to as AUSMFVS, which combines the accuracy of AUSM${}^{+}$ and the stability of FVS.     

Bounds on the elastic moduli of statistically isotropic multicomponent materials and random cell polycrystals

Minimum energy and complementary energy principles are used to derive the upper and lower bounds on the effective elastic moduli of statistically isotropic multicomponent materials in d ($d=2$ or 3) dimensions. The trial fields, involving harmonic and biharmonic potentials, and free parameters to be optimized, lead to the bounds containing, in addition to the properties and volume proportions of the material components, the three-point correlation information about the microgeometries of the composites. The relations and restrictions among the three-point correlation parameters are explored. The upper and lower bounds are specialized to symmetric cell materials and asymmetric multi-coated spheres, which are optimal or even converge in certain cases. New bounds for random cell polycrystals are constructed with particular results for random aggregates of cubic crystals.     

Effect of the kinematic hardening on the plastic anisotropy parameters for metallic sheets

The initial plastic anisotropy parameters are conventionally determined from the Lankford strain ratios defined by $r^{\psi }=\frac{{\epsilon }_{22}^{\mathrm{p}\psi }}{{\epsilon }_{33}^{\mathrm{p}\psi }}$ (ψ being the direction of the loading path). They are usually considered as constant parameters that are determined at a given value of the plastic strain far from the early stage of the plastic flow (i.e. equivalent plastic strain of ${\epsilon }_{\mathrm{eq}}^{\mathrm{p}}=0.2\text{\%}$) and typically at an equivalent plastic strain in between 20% and 50% of plastic strain failure (or material ductility). What prompts to question about the relevance of this determination, considering that this ratio does not remain constant, but changes with plastic strain. Accordingly, when the nonlinear evolution of the kinematic hardening is accounted for, the Lankford strain ratios are expected to evolve significantly during the plastic flow.In this work, a parametric study is performed to investigate the effect of the nonlinear kinematic hardening evolution of the Lankford strain ratios for different values of the kinematic hardening parameters. For the sake of clarity, this nonlinear kinematic hardening is formulated together with nonlinear isotropic hardening in the framework of anisotropic Hill-type (1948) yield criterion. Extension to other quadratic or non-quadratic yield criteria can be made without any difficulty. This parametric study is completed by studying the effect of these parameters on simulations of sheet metal forming by large plastic strains.     

Fluid Permeability in Stratified Unconsolidated Particulate Bed

Fluid permeability of polydisperse particulate bed with finite thickness has been examined. On the assumption of creeping flow, the permeability of monodisperse particles with arbitrary arrangement is calculated by means of Stokesian dynamics approach in which the interaction between individual particles and interstitial fluid is described by multipole expansion of the Oseen tensor. We have extended such calculation method to polydisperse particulate systems which have not so dense structures (up to particle volume fraction ${\phi \sim}$ 0.2). The particles are located infinitely in space and their interaction has been taken into account by Ewald summation technique. For the spatial distribution of polydisperse particles, we consider locally stratified particulate beds and define stratification degree as a parameter which apparently and mathematically represents the thickness of the mixing region of different-sized particles. The permeability profiles in the particulate beds with different stratification degree show the dependence of local permeability on the spatial and size distribution of particles. Consequently, the calculation results indicate that the permeability of non-uniform polydisperse particulate bed can be predicted by integrating the local permeation resistance which is determined by the local specific surface area.     

One parameter model for creep in a whisker reinforced anisotropic rotating disc of Al–SiCw composite

Steady state creep in a rotating disc of anisotropic aluminum silicon carbide whisker composite has been studied in the present study. The creep behavior is described by Norton's power law. Stress and strain rate distributions for anisotropic discs have been calculated and compared with those obtained for isotropic disc. It is concluded that the radial strain rate which always remained compressive for the isotropic composite ($\alpha =1.0$) and anisotropic disc ($\alpha =1.3$), becomes tensile in the middle region of the disc when the anisotropy parameter $\alpha =0.7$. Also if α is reduced from 1.3 to 0.7 the variation of tensile strain rate in the tangential direction remains similar but the magnitude reduces by five orders of magnitude. The study revealed that anisotropy introduces significant change in the strain rates although its effect on the resulting stress distribution may be relatively small.     

Nematic polymer mechanics: flow-induced anisotropy

In this paper, we model and compute flow-induced mechanical properties of nematic polymer nano-composites, consisting of transversely isotropic rigid spheroids in an isotropic matrix. Our goal is to fill a gap in the theoretical literature between random and perfectly aligned spheroidal composites (Odegard et al. in Compos. Sci. Technol. 63, 1671–1687, 2003; Gusev et al. in Adv. Eng. Mater. 4(12), 927–931 2002; Torquato in Random heterogeneous materials. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 2002; Milton in The Theory of Composites. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002) by modeling the influence of nano-particle volume fraction, flow type and flow rate on nano-composite elasticity tensors. As these influences vary, we predict the degree of elastic anisotropy, determining the number of independent moduli, and compute their values relative to the nano-particle and matrix moduli. We restrict here to monodomains, addressing features associated with orientational configurations of the rod or platelet ensemble. The key modeling advance is the transfer of symmetries (Forest et al. in Phys. Fluids 12(3), 490–498, 2000) and numerical databases (Forest et al. in Rheol. Acta 43(1), 17–37, 2004a, Rheol. Acta 44(1), 80–93, 2004b) for the orientational probability distribution function of the nematic polymer ensemble into the classical Mori–Tanaka effective elasticity tensor formalism. Isotropic, transversely isotropic, orthotropic, monoclinic, and maximally anisotropic elasticity tensors are realized as volume fraction, imposed flow type and flow strength are varied, with 2, 5, 9, 13 or 21 independent moduli for the various symmetries.     

Pure liquids described as concentrated cluster dispersions

The Fulcher-Tammann-Hesse-Vogel equation, ln = A + B/(T – T ₀ ), is shown to be equivalent to the general viscosity-composition relationship, ln _r =k f /(1 – f ), for binary mixtures. The Cailletet-Mathias law of the Rectilinear Diameter is rearranged to represent a density mixture formula for two components. Temperature-independent viscosities and densities can then be calculated for dense, solid cluster fractions, dispersed in a low-density, low-viscosity non-clustered continuous phase. The cluster fraction decreases with temperature. The value ofT ₀ is shown to be related to the liquid- or solid-like behavior of the clusters. For liquids with a vapor pressure < 1 mm Hg at the melting point, the calculated cluster volume fraction suggests close packing of clusters, ranging in shape from monodisperse spheres to polydisperse non-spherical particles. Examples are given for molecular liquids, molten metals, and molten salts. The size of the clusters is estimated from the heat of evaporation.